Penn State must tighten its belt. Gov. Mark Schweiker's administration announced a $148.3 million budget cut Friday, in addition to the $200 million freeze implemented by former Gov. Tom Ridge. Non-state-owned appropriations, such as Penn State, were some of the hardest hit groups in the freeze, with Penn State now losing $10 million from its original state appropriation.

Penn State President Graham Spanier promised Friday that the university would not hike its tuition to offset the freeze. Penn State should be commended for not passing this unexpected burden onto students who reasonably cannot be expected to chalk up an extra few hundred dollars midyear. While the university should be lauded for using internal cost-cutting methods to cover the lost funds, it also must be reminded that it should not stick students with the bill this summer, when it approves next year's tuition cost.

A tentative budget outline for next year already calls for an increase in tuition — as much as $554 per year for lower-division undergraduate students. This budget also assumes a $25.9 million increase in state funding. Last year, the state increased its original allocation by only $2.86 million — and Penn State raised its tuition by 7.76 percent.

To cover the lost appropriation money, Penn State will cut back faculty travel, delay hiring and cut money from other projects. These might not be welcome cuts to those directly affected, but they are a necessary evil when compared to raising student tuition. As the university looks toward its 2002-2003 budget, it must consider all options before raising tuition. If Penn State does not receive as much money from Harrisburg as it requests, which almost undoubtedly will be the case, the university should again consider what internal expenditures can be cut before asking more of its overburdened, tuition-paying students.

State legislators in Harrisburg also must remember the sacrifices Penn State is already making when they decide its appropriations in the coming months. As the university works toward keeping unnecessary costs down, the state must do its part by adequately funding Penn State.

Most state legislators recently took a 50 percent pension increase, a measure they approved last year. Of the 252 lawmakers, 213 accepted the 50 percent hike, while 19 others took a 25 percent increase. Like any profession, our legislators deserve to make a decent living and to receive adequate benefits, however a 50 percent increase seems excessive, especially since at the same time others, such as Penn State, are dealing with state budget cuts.

Funding a growing university while keeping student tuition manageable is a difficult balancing act. Administrators must be cost conscious and legislators must be reasonable in their expectations. If either group fails, students will be the ones who suffer.