The Cost of Diversity

Megan Hickins

Think Piece

This year has not been easy. Uncertainty, job loss, grief, and the pandemic have been looming in the minds of people everywhere. It would have been easy for students and faculty at the collegiate level to abandon academia. However, many remained steadfast in their pursuit of education. Students took on constant virtual meetings in their bedrooms, cars, kitchen counters, and employee breakrooms. Professors restructured their entire classes to accommodate online platforms. Those involved with in-person courses worked on creating a safer learning environment on campus by following CDC guidelines. Metropolitan State University of Denver is no exception, but what makes the community especially distinctive in times of difficulty is the student body itself.

According to the Institutional Research Data Book on the MSU Denver website, over 50% of MSU Denver students are first-generation. 48.4% identify as students of color. Roughly 5,000 students over the age of 30 attend classes at MSU Denver. Around 80% of students have full-time jobs, and many have children and families. Several support themselves through their college education. Essentially, the community is made up of trailblazers and hard workers who have conquered and continually overcome a multitude of challenges.

However, this does not diminish the fact that Roadrunners, like anyone else, require support. This support is even more pertinent when one takes into account the fact that MSU Denver is one of the least funded universities in the entire state of Colorado.

While the issue has only intensified during the coronavirus pandemic, prior to this health crisis MSU Denver has had a history of receiving far fewer resources than neighboring universities.

“MSU Denver has had a history of receiving far fewer resources than neighboring universities.”

The Joint Budget Committee (JBC), a group that oversees and analyzes the state government spending for Colorado, has routinely given the university funding to improve the educational experiences of students. However, according to President Janine Davidson, information from a report conducted by the state explained that MSU Denver is grossly underfunded. The institution receives $48 million less in funding than a typical four-year university in Colorado. According to a report commissioned by the state, in order to receive the same amount of funding as similarly sized universities around the nation, MSU Denver would need to tack on another $64 million.

Per the email from President Davidson, which was sent out to the student body as well as the university faculty and staff on the 3rd of February 2021, MSU Denver provides higher education to more people of color than any other university in the state. With this in mind, the lack of funding exposes a problem of equity within academia. In the words of Davidson:

“The pandemic, along with the year’s historic racial-justice movement, has exposed the inequalities we have been living with for decades. We cannot in good conscience agree to anything that perpetuates the status quo and fails to correct longstanding inequity.”

So, for the first time in around a decade, Davidson and her colleagues have refused to sign “The Joint Budget, ”a document that reveals the state spending budget that each Colorado university receives per year. Instead, they have decided to make a different case for the MSU Denver budget. Davidson explains:

“I requested that lawmakers close MSU Denver’s funding gap by investing close to $50 Million in our base funding over the next five years.”

Refusing to sign the document and drafting up a proposal instead is the first step. It is the first step for the university to move toward a greater spending budget and to create more equity within higher education. With the new proposition, which has brought a larger equity issue to light, Davidson hopes to generate more opportunities to uplift entire MSU Denver community.

“The lack of funding exposes a problem of equity within academia.”