With a new semester beginning, OU students, parents, faculty, and staff must attempt to answer a question that hangs above our heads like the Sword of Damocles: "Can we pay the increase in tuition and fees that it takes to attend a nationally ranked university?" President Boren has been outspoken on campus and in the local media about the reasons for the tuition increase, as well as the actions he and the Board of Regents have been taking to alleviate the fiscal stress on the university as well as the university family; however, The Undercurrent wishes to give our readers our own interpretation of the events leading up to the tuition increase, as well as the choices and controversy surrounding it in order to give students a deeper understanding of the situation.
                By early 2000, the national economy was beginning to slip from the euphoric high it had reached in the mid to late '90s. President Bush put forward his tax cut with the hope that the returns would enable American citizens and companies to jump-start the economy; however, days prior to the terror attacks of September 11^th, 2001, the economy was poised on the edge of a collapse unprecedented in recent memory. As we all remember, the stock market dropped through the floor when it was reopened the following week, and if not for safeguards added after the great drop of 1929 another stock market crash would have followed. It was not until after the fallout of the attacks that economists were able to determine that the summer prior to that horrendous event the national economy was already in a small recession. The Bush Administration would argue that another tax cut, two wars, and attempts at fiscal resurrection have apparently protected the economy from an all-out collapse; however, the future of America's economy has yet to be determined. This economic disaster has taken a tremendous toll on state budgets, which, all together, have equaled $26 billion collectively in deficits.

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Advice for Freshmen
by Amanda Reckonwithe

            So I said to my boyfriend Joey, “Joey,” I said, “I think my first column this semester should be full of wisdom for freshmen. Which subject do you think is more important, developing good study habits or finding your way around campus?”
            “If you want a subject important to freshmen,” Joey said, looking up from his book of Sufi stories, “talk to them about finding their way around the drugstore shelves and studying the various types of condoms available. Nothing spoils a freshman year like an unexpected pregnancy or a dose of herpes. Personally, I recommend Trojan-enz – easy to open, just enough lube to slip on quickly, and the reservoir tip maintains sensitivity after ejaculation. That’s something you only learn through experience - which, I think, qualifies it as wisdom.”

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