While I am sure that Michael McRobbie is an excellent choice for president of IU, it was disheartening to read his statements and the IDS’s coverage of the announcement. McRobbie discussed his commitment to the faculty and undergraduates at IU and the IDS reported on the reactions of the faculty and undergraduates. Unfortunately, a key part of IU was omitted. Once again graduate students were left out in the cold. I can only hope that such an omission will not be indicative of McRobbie’s policies toward this important segment of the IU community.\nWhile complaining about the absence of the graduate student community from McRobbie’s comments or the IDS’s coverage of the announcement of a new president may seem petty, it is difficult not to be petty given the circumstances. In recent weeks there have been articles stating that the new president will be given $10 million for new initiatives and that outgoing president Adam Herbert be receiving $30,000 a year for 10 years. On the other hand, graduate students have repeatedly been told that there simply isn’t any money in the budget to provide them with dental insurance. It seems odd the University has no money in its budget for graduate students but is willing to pay so much money to members of the administration.\nThe basic needs of graduate students at IU have been ignored for far too long. I can only hope the failure of McRobbie and the IDS to mention graduate students was simply a mistake and not an early indication that IU’s graduate student community will continue to be ignored.
Bryan-Mitchell Young\nGraduate student
