The University of Memphis will be revisiting its plans for a new recreation center after deciding the current estimate was too expensive, according to a campus-wide email sent out Feb.12 by U of M president M. David Rudd. The email stated that costs for the project ballooned to well over $60M, exceeding the boundaries of the original financial model and that the student fee supporting the land bridge and recreation center has generated well below projections (an estimated $15M.)
U of M President M. David Rudd announced last week the University of Memphis’ long-awaited and state-of-the-art rec center will have to be redesigned and will take another 18 months before construction begins.
The funding for the new rec center has come out of student fees, $149 per semester, but the total of $15 million was still “below projections†and not enough to fund the construction of the original design.
Rudd obviously took some heat (on social media and from the voices of student government members) for pushing back the construction, and while the U of M President admitted during a Daily Helmsman Q & A he had to make a quick decision, I know another President that would have made an even quicker one. I know another President who would have handled the situation a lot differently and made a lot more people upset (which we all know by now is pretty much the point of being a president in 2017).Â
If we’ve learned anything about how presidents are supposed to act from watching the current President of the United States, (and let’s pretend for the sake of satire we have) Rudd should have denied there was a problem in the first place. He should have promised a “tremendous†new rec center that would impact the campus “bigly†no matter what.Â
“Believe me – trust me,†he should have said. “It’s gonna be ‘yuuuge’ and we’re building it tomorrow. Mexico is paying for it.â€
Then, after waving his hands tremulously, Rudd should have attacked the media for trying to pester him with all these “nasty†and “unfair†questions. While it’s all well and good Rudd agreed to an interview from The Daily Helmsman, the way presidents are supposed to handle the media (as modeled by the 45th POTUS) is to first and foremost insult the publications that ask him questions. This is what presidents do daily in 2017. Rudd should have called The Daily Helmsman “FAKE NEWS†in a series of tweets in order to distract from the issue. Here are some ideas for next time:
“The failing @DailyHelmsman is so totally obsessed with rec center. FAKE NEWS. Sad.â€
Or…
“Rec center very important to me. @DailyHelmsman very DISHONEST. Also, Meryl Streep is trash. Overrated. Sad.â€
Something disjointed and lacking coherence that would reflect the guttural emotions of a legion of angry Twitter followers is the perfect solution for the pesky media trying to report things. And hey, Rudd is fairly active on Twitter. What’s he waiting for?
At a student government meeting last Thursday, Rudd doubled down on the decision to delay rec center plans, stating that building the new center with the current financial model would increase the debt service of the university from $150 million to $230 million. Student tuition would then have to increase throughout the next decade, he said.
While using numbers and coherent thoughts to help make a big decision is all fine and good, people can’t really relate to that deep down.
The time of presidents acting dignified and meeting with peers to address and solve issues is long gone. It’s time for unadulterated and unfiltered denial of any criticism that any president receives, big or small. It’s time for new headaches every day. Rudd’s not a bad president, but everyone knows that to get to the top, you have to insult your way there.
Sad. Â
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