[LINK] Cultural destruction

[Jan Whitaker]

What is the world coming to?  I read the headline on this story thinking it 
was a censorship story.  Instead it's destruction due to 
underfunding.  What a sad state of affairs.  couldn't they have at least 
given the books to community libraries, nursing homes, literacy centres, 
etc etc?  What sort of respect for learning does this express from a 
'university'???? :(

http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/0103/21/A30888-2001Mar21.shtml

Sydney university forced to bury books

    Source: AAP|Published: Wednesday March 21, 10:15 AM

    A Sydney university has been forced to bury 10,000 books in the ground 
because it cannot afford to store them.

    The University of Western Sydney today admitted to burying the books, 
which include first editions and tomes up to 100 years old, The Daily 
Telegraph reported.

    Low funding and high student growth over the past five years are to 
blame for the problem, the university said.

    Students also complain of tutorial classes of 35 students instead of 
20, 110 students crammed into lecture theatres with a capacity of 85 and 
only 10 photocopiers in the library to service 5,000 students.

    The Universities of Sydney and NSW get Federal government funding of 
around $17,000 per student, while UWS gets less than $11,000, the paper said.

    "There is no doubt we have always been under funded in comparison with 
older and far wealthier universities in the city's east," UWS 
vice-chancellor Janice Reid said.