In days when layoffs are industry standard and austerity leads to uprisings, no town in America slips through unscathed. With Providence's cash flow set to run dry by June, this debt hysteria is hitting home.
Providence Mayor Angel Taveras has so far stripped millions from the budget by making cuts and consolidating government branches. However, it seems that the steps taken so far are not enough. Mirroring the sentiments of Occupy Providence protesters, Taveras is calling on the city's major tax-exempt institutions to help alleviate more of the financial burden. Besides our University, this includes several hospitals and three other independent fixtures of higher education.
These local concerns undoubtedly reflect the current national discourse. Occupy Wall Street, congressional gridlock and the beginning of the presidential race have launched the nation into a heated debate about what comprises a fair share of taxes. Providence denizens — many of whom view the University as a corporation with a $2.5 billion endowment — think that our school should contribute much more than the annual $4 million paid in voluntary taxes. Considering that Providence's budget for this fiscal year is $614 million, roughly $150 million less than the University's budget for the coming year, this issue is obviously one worth some deliberation. But how do we move forward?
One can understand Brown's hesitance to throw wads of cash at an ailing city. Time and time again — from Boston's Big Dig to failed federally-funded enterprises — we have seen what tends to happen when we hand our purses to government without explicit agreement as to where the money ends up. Thus, in an attempt to assist one of the sectors hit hardest by budget cuts, the University offered to pour an additional $10 million into city schools over the next five years. Seeing as Brown's tax-exempt status means it pays $30 million less than it would each year, the mayor's administration flatly rejected this proposal in hopes of a more lucrative one. However, the University's motivations are well-founded.
Providence must realize that lack of money is not the biggest problem it faces in years ahead. Sacrificing education in an already poorly-performing district is the worst move that this administration can make. To curb debt, the city has closed five elementary schools since last year and has narrowly avoided laying off scores of teachers. Though student-teacher ratios have managed to stay low, future rounds of cuts will not leave us so lucky.
It doesn't matter if the city can meet its budget goals if it means not educating an entire generation. If Providence abandons its children, who will be capable of dealing with the complex socioeconomic problems plaguing present and future citizens? Even if we choose to cut more arts, music or athletics from schools to save academics, the youth will become less healthy and creative, and more will likely turn to substance abuse to abate boredom. We don't want Providence turning into yet another urban wasteland. Facilitating the city's decay will also decrease prospects of economic development. Originally attracted by Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design, businesses and startups searching for a home will be deterred from choosing Providence if they think it has no future.
The University should contribute more money to the city, but only on the condition that it is not sucked away into the bureaucratic void. Any agreement must include provisions for funneling additional money into education and other enterprises that do not neglect the long-term for the short. In the future, few will remember a year solely because the city met its budget goals — but no one would ever forget who signed Providence's death certificate.
Our city, though scarred, is brimming with bright hopes. Many neighborhoods are alive with kids playing and running free. The sense of community manifested in projects like the Urban Pond Procession proves that the city is ripe with minds devoted to creative innovation, even outside of the college communities.
But hands cannot extend one way. We, the students who reap the city's benefits and help keep local businesses thriving, must start pulling more from our brains than from our wallets. Any monetary contribution from the University must be met tenfold by increased student volunteering and tutoring at Providence schools. What we can do for the local economy is good, but what we can do for the people is great.
Through close friends, I was recently introduced to several innovative programs with great potential. They include Project GOAL, where Brown students couple tutoring with soccer in Central Falls to encourage academic success, and Arts for Social Change, an in-the-works group that will become active next semester. Many student organizations currently help, but as with all service endeavors, the job is never done. Though the University may soon be stripped of its tax exemption by forces beyond its control, we must trump funds with action to improve our home away from home. If the city won't act and shuns education, we must teach where it won't and ensure kids have fun.
Adam Bouche '14 is a geology-biology and archaeology concentrator from Ipswich, Mass. He may be contacted adam_bouche@brown.edu.
