Wednesday's editorial concerning the state's cut in funding to Penn State mentioned that it was "unexpected by the university." This is true, but it is wrong to place the blame for our current problems on the state, rather than on an administration out of touch with reality.

The reality is that we are in an economic downturn, which means that the state is going to take in less money, which means that it is going to have less money to dole out. There is no way around this, it's just the nature of the world. Here at Penn State, we like to think of ourselves as exempt from the rules of economics, but the truth is, we're just as susceptible as everyone else in the state.

The administration had a choice to make: expansion with increases in spending, or cutting back and keeping tuition low. I personally disagree with their choice. What I find even worse than their choice, however, is that they aren't willing to admit that this is what they're doing. Instead, they pass responsibility for these tuition increases to Harrisburg, even though they knew that if we had received all the funding we requested this year, we'd still be facing an 8 percent tuition hike. It's time for the administration to stand up and acknowledge what it believes in.