There are times when you want to throw something at the radio or rip up the newspaper, not so much in anger, but in frustration.

What I've seen and heard in the media about the budget crisis at the University of Northern Iowa along with the subtexts of the story has revealed mindsets that are astonishing.

Here are the specifics:

1. The university has to cut its budget dramatically because of the economic downturn.
2. The university announced numerous money-cutting strategies including hiring freezes, elimination of adjuncts, increased class sizes and perhaps even the elimination of toilet paper. I made that up, but we did have a discussion about reducing paper usage.
3. Members of the faculty union discovered that UNI is transferring millions of dollars each year from academics to athletics. When this was made public, several of UNI's hundreds of vice-presidents informed the world that a full professor of economics and a full professor of finance didn't know how to read a financial statement, or � anyway, they simply didn't understand.
4. It was announced that the baseball program at UNI will be eliminated.
5. Iowa citizens and the local media were outraged.

Were they outraged about cuts in academic programs and factors that can affect the quality of education? No. They were outraged about the baseball program. "Why," several asked, "don't they just fire some profs?" "Hey," several said, "I bet there are other programs that don't pay their own way. You know, stuff like theatre, and maybe that math stuff."

Organizations were formed to raise money to save baseball. Individuals and groups were asked to "step up" and make contributions. People were encouraged to write and e-mail the governor, the president of UNI, regents and your grandmother, protesting the end of baseball and the imminent collapse of Iowa civilization.

There is nothing wrong with hitting little balls with wooden sticks, but there definitely is something wrong with our educational priorities.

An Iowa kid comes out of high school. He can throw a ball. That kid is in all the papers. His house is surrounded by coaches and agents promising free college degrees, the very best facilities and a Cadillac for his momma.

Another Iowa kid comes out of high school with one of the top five scores in the state on the ACT test. Her name is in the paper maybe twice and she is offered a free college degree by several colleges.

During college, the athlete is in the paper every time he burps or gets arrested. The student is never heard of again.

The athlete gives us five years of great entertainment when he graduates. The student solves the puzzle of Alzheimer's or gives us a solution to fusion energy.

We talk about it a lot, but it is obvious that we don't care about education.

We care about athletics, and it gets better and better. This was explained to me while I was watching the basketball finals. The same day, I read an article stating that a modern college degree was roughly worth the same as a 1960 high school degree. Recently, I've seen discussions in the media stating that knowledge about such things as solid geometry was "stupid." Solid geometry was once taught to high school juniors; after all, we live in a universe with very few flat surfaces.

I have a solution to the whole problem. A recent publication said that modern students will work hard for grades, but they wouldn't necessarily put in additional effort to learn more. They want good grades, their parents want "successful" students and the culture could not care less as long as the universities provide entertainment.

I suggest that the state of Iowa sell university degrees. Pay the fee and several weeks later the degree will show up in the mail. A degree with honors would cost a little more. All the profs could be fired.

Most of the bureaucrats could be maintained to handle the paperwork.

It's a win-win.

More money could be spent on the athletic programs. Empty dorms could be filled with cheerleading camps, baseball, football, basketball and whatever-ball camps and seminars.

The citizens would be happy, the government would be happy, parents and students would be happy. We could paint happy faces on all Iowa water towers, and the last Asian student could show us how to turn off the lights before she goes back to China.