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As we all know by now, the University of Montana has suffered tremendously from five painful years of bad publicity, the loss of several thousand students, the accompanying loss of millions of dollars in revenue, and devastating cuts that have gutted its budget and curriculum. Meanwhile, the UM president and the Commissioner of Higher Education have failed to address the unfolding crisis. Instead of accepting any responsibility for the abysmal state of the university, they have assigned surrogates and proxies to attack their critics, portraying them as an isolated and disgruntled minority, all the while continuing to blame the root causes of the present crisis on an array of external and at times irrelevant factors.

After five years of alarming decline, we have no choice but to confront the stubborn facts in front of us, especially because they have a direct impact on the Missoula and Montana economies:

1. Since 2011, the University of Montana has lost more than 3,000 students;

2. Since 2011, the University of Montana has lost tens of millions of dollars;