— Relieve UW of many reporting requirements to free up resources, a move Cross said would “enhance the ability of our universities to be open in the broadest way possible this fall.”

Several universities are already doing an earlier start date. This allows them to complete the semester earlier and prevents an outbreak if everyone goes home for Thanksgiving and then returns to campus. This puts a burden on the businesses, including farms, who rely on summer labor, but is a sensible concession.

On the debt, Covid hit everyone hard and many people and businesses had to take huge hits to their incomes and value. By taking on debt, UW wants to avoid pain and shift it to the taxpayers or students in the form of guaranteed debt. There is so much fat in UW that they have a long way to go before the legislature should consider allowing them to outsource their pain to people who are already experiencing their own pain.

On the reporting, removing safeguards are a way to invite corruption and mismanagement. Perhaps they can streamline the reporting requirements, but they should not be abandoned for the sake of expediency.