If you ever watched the 2000 pop-culture classic “Bring it On” (starring Kirsten Dunst), you may remember the scene where the cheer captain Torrance takes her champion team to the semi-finals competition with a purchased cheer routine, a disqualifying offense should it come to light. To the squad’s horror, another team performs the routine before the former champions take the stage. They are humiliated by their error.
That scene is on replay in my head when I see universities executing from a playbook that does not seem to fit their particular needs or their constituents’ desire. In this current example, the flagship university of West Virginia announced on August 11 that it would eliminate 9% of majors and fire 7% of its faculty for financial reasons. On the chopping block are primarily foreign languages, humanities, and math.
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