Having jumbo-jets and world renowned directors on campus are big ideas that would be a welcome and exciting addition to the arts at Cornell — but not at the expense of the grants that support our own aspiring artists.

Cornell is on the brink of historic decisions as its infrastructure undergoes a massive restructuring, and nothing is more integral to the University’s strategic plan than its budget, officials say.

In a year that has tightened fiscal belts everywhere, Ithaca was forced to tighten its belt another notch when Cornell announced that it will decrease its annual voluntary contribution to the city by about $4,500. Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson recently passed a budget of $58.63 million for the year, closing a $2.5 million deficit.

It is reasonable to assume that the budget cuts which have recently bludgeoned the performing arts at Cornell will only expand, as departments, majors and disciplines deemed “peripheral unit to the University’s core” (as a Feb. 3 editorial put it) lose funding. The departments that will be saved, because they are certainly not peripheral in any way, like the hard sciences, will never have to question whether or not they are serving the University’s “mission.”