uc compensation

for anyone who's had to bust their ass working to pay off their tuition or is currently paying off a student loan, you should follow the sf chronicle's/sfgate.com's investigation on all the compensation that uc employees (the higher-ups, i.e. chancellors). it will make you extremely mad. they get so many damn perks it would make a hollywood diva's demands pale in comparison. they get paid even when they're haven't even started working for the universities and are paid even they're long gone.
and it took an investigation by a newspaper to make the uc admit their administrative oversights, which apparently are a lot. how can the uc regents even justify a $30,000 dog run for uc santa cruz chancellor denise denton, when she already gets a free living in the university house (4,214-square-foot public section, 2,680-square-foot private section), on top of her $282 k salary. i love dogs and all, but this ridiculous! this is ca state taxpayers' money!

from sf gate:

"As a result of that and other spending disclosures in the press, [uc president Robert] Dynes recently tightened the rules for renovation projects at university-owned homes and the offices of top executives. Under a policy announced at the UC Board of Regents meeting in Los Angeles earlier this month, Dynes said he must personally approve projects costing more than $25,000 at any of the 10 chancellors' homes and offices. And the regents will have to endorse any project worth that much involving the president's home or office.
However, it was Dynes who approved the funds for the improvements on Denton's list, according to her offer letter."

all this money given to people who are already "well-paid" really makes me sick, especially when the cost of higher education is increasing. student loan interests are going up. i busted my ass in school while working two or three jobs so i can pay for the roof over my head. (and for some students, the roof is not that great). shit, my grades would have been way better if i didn't have to worry about my financial aid. so many students and their families have to struggle to pay for the opportunity to continue their eduction, and its a slap in the face to read about these expensive perks given to people who are supposed to be leaders in higher education. don't give me a song and dance about trying to match up against private institutions and trying to get the very best administrators, because this is public money meant to ultimately help students. uc needs to be more accountable.

it's a damn shame.