During town hall on Dec. 11, Provost Mathew Evans and Arts and Science Dean Barbara Crow announced Queen’s University expects to exhaust its reserve funds by 2025-26. The Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) could run out as early as next year if cuts aren’t implemented, and students are demanding an explanation.

Inflated grades are a trend originating early in the COVID-19 pandemic and  surviving the transition from virtual to in-person classrooms—across far more universities than Yale. The Health Sciences program at Queen’s is infamous among its students for similar grade inflation.

The use of reserves and endowment funds, although an enticing idea to clear the budget deficit, isn’t possible due to existing policies. These policies can be changed, but if they were, there would likely be ramifications on other aspects of Queen’s operations, or these changes may lead to other types of risk.

As lean government funding and public criticisms challenge the future of extraterrestrial travel, Canada should prioritize investing in space exploration.