It never ceases to amaze me how little people outside academia understand about university budgets. Most institutions are not Harvard. Their endowmrnts are small + restricted. They do not have liquid funds for emergencies. They do not pay professors six-figure salaries.

Tuition discounts = less revenue for the university. Less revenue = something has to go. That "something" means contingent faculty get fired, retirement matching goes away, essential staff members are fired, faculty are furloughed & lose salary.

Oh, and the university has to spend a ton of money on educational technology programs, hardware, & other resources. That stuff isn't cheap. Any savings from, say, not turning on the heat in the gym? Gets sucked up overnight.

It's not a game. And for people to essentially say, even without intent, "Sorry, we have no appreciation for all the extra work you're doing & in fact think you should get paid less for it" is so. Damn. Disheartening.

I get it. Spring was a mess. We were in survival mode. But lots of faculty teach online & do it well every year. It can be done. We can & are learning how. The best & safest thing for all of us - students included - is to teach online. But that doesn't come cheap.