My tax dollars at work

[brianwspencer]

Or not.

Spokesmen for the university said Ms. Morrison’s fee would not come out of money provided by the state or tuition paid by students, but from a vending contract with PepsiCo, though that is still money that could have gone into academic programs. At some colleges, speaking fees come from alumni gifts earmarked for that purpose.

Though regardless, it's not like $30K for someone like Toni Morrison is unheard of for any kind of speech...