A few days before our treasured Thanksgiving Break, the Computer Sciences department here at the University of Wisconsin received an early Christmas gift. Sheldon and Marianne Lubar donated $7 million to department expansion and to accommodate more students and faculty.
This is surely phenomenal news for the Computer Science department, and there is no doubt that it was well-deserved considering the rapid growth of technology in society. But what is concerning about this gift is not so much the gift itself, but rather how the Lubars decided the gift’s destination.
The Lubars made their decision based on a conversation with the heads of the College of Letters and Science concerning which departments would have the most impact in the 21st century. From this conversation, they decided on computer sciences.
There is no denying of the importance computer sciences will have this century, and many onwards, however this conversation that decided Computer Science is the department most deserving of $7 million is one that should at least mildly insult students and faculty of departments within the humanities and social sciences.
Humanities and social sciences will be critical in crafting the policies necessary to counter the ignorance and indecency that exist in all parts of the world today. In the wake of recent events in today’s world, many people are questioning the status of their natural rights. Whether it be justice reform, police militarization or the refugee crisis, it will be the people who work in humanities that fix these problems.
But if UW, and universities like it, continue neglecting the humanistic importance of these subjects, instead favoring the economic benefits of others, then no one should be surprised when student enrolled in these departments starts to decrease.
At UW for example, students will begin to find it increasingly difficult to choose subjects such as English, environmental studies and geography as their major. They will be forced to navigate the crumbling and technologically-inferior buildings such as Humanities and Science Hall, while other students can enjoy buildings such as Microbial Sciences and Chamberlin which are comparatively pristine and advanced.
While this trend of funding going almost exclusively toward technology and science while humanities gets ignored cannot be blamed solely on UW, decisions like this do nothing to help stop the trend. They do nothing to help humanities departments and majors, which are crucial in solving some of the most pressing issues in today’s world.
Henry Solotaroff-Webber ([email protected]) is sophomore majoring in English and Spanish.
