The University administration waded its way through bureaucratic and academic red tape and discovered the perfect loophole to lessen the effect of the proposed Penn State Tuition Grant. In reneging on its agreement to increase the money granted each year, the administration has rascaled its way out of the decision it made last spring with former Undergraduate Student Government President Chris Saunders, leaving a shadow on the plan to help financially needy students.

The administration should follow through with the original proposal that 3 percent of the money obtained through annual tuition increases to the Office of Student Aid. Without such an increase, the University's financial web of tuition hikes and financial aid will end up as a self-defeating tangle.

Executive Vice President and Provost John Brighton was quick to support Saunders' proposal for tuition-based financial aid last spring. But, after saying last week that scholarships should come from other sources, but not clarifying what those other sources are or could be, Brighton has turned on the landmark idea.

Such waffling tactics seem to be a result of major communication problems and misunderstandings. Saunders initiated the grant as a way for financial aid to match annual tuition hikes. The administration should take responsibility for its promises, keeping the University's educational and service role in mind.