What university spokesman Bill Mahon doesn't realize and what the university administration refuses to recognize is the old adage: "A penny saved is a penny earned." What the university has embraced is shifting the blame in an attempt to never accept any responsibility for tuition increases and refusing to do anything about it ("Tuition cost focus of rally at Old Main," Nov. 10).

A cap is needed for University Park so the administration is forced to make decisions and trade-offs as to what gets expanded and what gets contracted. At the very least, if you want to keep education quality constant, then you must downsize the administrative costs in an effort to minimize tuition. It is clear that the university should accept that many administrative offices, salaries and budgets need to be cut. This can happen by firing administrators, cutting their salaries and benefits, consolidating offices and positions and investing in automation. Such policies will facilitate real savings to students in the short and long term.

The bottom line: the cost savings initiatives of the university need to be the number one priority if the concept of "the student centered university" is to be taken seriously.