大學連爆財務危機 哈佛也難逃

Ohio Wesleyan University is eliminating 18 majors. The University of Florida’s trustees last month took the first steps toward letting the school furlough faculty. The University of California, Berkeley, has paused admissions to its doctoral programs in anthropology, sociology and art history.

美國俄亥俄衛斯理大學取消了18個科系。佛州大學董事會9月採取初步措施，目標是讓校方有權放教師無薪假。柏克萊加州大學則暫停招收人類學、社會學和藝術史的博士班學生。

As it resurges across the country, the coronavirus is forcing universities large and small to make deep and possibly lasting cuts to close widening budget shortfalls. By one estimate, the pandemic has cost colleges at least $120 billion, with even Harvard University, despite its $41.9 billion endowment, reporting a $10 million deficit that has prompted belt tightening.

由於全美各地新冠肺炎疫情再度惡化，美國各大學不論規模大小，都被迫大砍支出，以彌補逐漸擴大的預算缺口，刪減的支出可能長期都不會恢復。有人估計，疫情至少使美國各大學合計損失1200億美元，就連坐擁419億美元辦學基金的哈佛大學也出現1000萬美元預算赤字，被迫勒緊褲帶。

The persistence of the economic downturn is taking a devastating financial toll, pushing many to lay off or furlough employees, delay graduate admissions and even cut or consolidate core programs like liberal arts departments.

經濟持續疲軟造成極其嚴重的財務災情，迫使許多大學裁員或放無薪假，推遲研究所學生入學，甚至取消或合併文科等核心學程。

The University of South Florida announced last month that its College of Education would become a graduate school only, phasing out undergraduate education degrees to help close a $6.8 million budget gap. In Ohio, the University of Akron, citing the coronavirus, successfully invoked a clause in its collective-bargaining agreement in September to supersede tenure rules and lay off 97 unionized faculty members.

南佛州大學上個月宣布，其教育學院將只留下研究所，分階段取消大學部，以彌補680萬美元的預算缺口。在俄亥俄州，艾克朗大學以疫情為由，在9月成功援用團體協約一項條款取代任期規則，裁掉97名加入工會的教師。

“We haven’t seen a budget crisis like this in a generation,” said Robert Kelchen, a Seton Hall University associate professor of higher education who has been tracking the administrative response to the pandemic. “There’s nothing off-limits at this point.”

西東大學高等教育副教授柯爾欽一直在關注校方對疫情的反應，他說：「這是一個世代以來從未見過的預算危機，在這種關頭，沒有什麼不能碰。」

Even before the pandemic, colleges and universities were grappling with a growing financial crisis, brought on by years of shrinking state support, declining enrollment, and student concerns with skyrocketing tuition and burdensome debt. Now the coronavirus has amplified the financial trouble systemwide, though elite, well-endowed colleges seem sure to weather it with far less pain.

早在疫情爆發前，美國大專院校就為日益嚴重的財務危機而掙扎，原因是州政府補助日漸減少，學生註冊數下滑而且介意學費高漲和學貸負擔沉重，如今，疫情擴大了整個高教體系財務問題，不過，辦學基金厚實的菁英大學似乎可度過難關，且承受的痛苦會少得多。

“We have been in aggressive recession management for 12 years — probably more than 12 years,” Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, told his board of governors as they voted to forge ahead with a proposal to merge a half-dozen small schools into two academic entities.

賓州高等教育體系董事會表決通過，大力推動將6個小規模學院併為兩個學術單位，當時總校長葛林斯坦對董事會說：「我們積極從事於衰退問題管理已有12年，應該還不止12年。」

封鎖釀青年失業潮 歐洲扛不住

Young and Jobless in Europe:‘It’s Been Desperate’

Like millions of young people across Europe, Rebecca Lee, 25, has suddenly found herself shut out of the labor market as the economic toll of the pandemic intensifies.Her job as a personal assistant at a London architecture firm was eliminated in September.

隨著疫情造成的經濟災情加劇，25歲的蕾貝卡•李伊跟歐洲數百萬青年一樣，突然發現自己被勞動市場拒於門外。她在倫敦一家建築師事務所的個人助理工作，在9月被裁撤了。

Lee, who has a degree in illustration from the University of Westminster, sent out nearly 100 job applications. After scores of rejections, she finally landed a two-month contract at a family-aid charity that pays 10 pounds (about $13) an hour.

具有西敏寺大學插畫學位的李伊送出近百份工作申請。在遭到數十次拒絕後，終於跟一個家庭援助慈善機構簽下為期兩個月的合約，時薪10英鎊（約13美元）。

“At the moment I will take anything I can get,” Lee said. “It’s been desperate.”

李伊說：「現在什麼工作我都肯幹。我已經走投無路了。」

The coronavirus pandemic is rapidly fueling a new youth unemployment crisis in Europe. Young people are being disproportionately hit, economically and socially, by lockdown restrictions, forcing many to make painful adjustments and leaving policymakers grasping for solutions.

新冠病毒大流行正在歐洲迅速引發新的青年失業危機。封鎖限制措施對年輕人在經濟與社會上造成超出比例的打擊，迫使許多人做出痛苦的調整，也讓決策者急於尋求解方。

Years of job growth has eroded in a matter of months, leaving more than twice as many young people than other adults out of work. The jobless rate for people 25 and under jumped from 14.7% in January to 17.6% in August, its highest level since 2017.

數年來的就業成長在短短幾個月內消失了，失業的年輕人是其他成年人的兩倍多。25歲及以下族群失業率從1月的14.7%躍升至8月的17.6%，來到2017年來最高水準。

Europe is not the only place where younger workers face a jobs crunch. Young Americans are especially vulnerable to the downturn. But in Europe, the pandemic’s economic impact puts an entire generation at risk, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

歐洲並非年輕勞工面臨就業危機的唯一地方。美國的年輕人尤其容易受到經濟衰退影響，但根據經濟合作發展組織的數據，這場疫情在歐洲造成的經濟影響，卻讓一整個世代面臨風險。

Young people are overrepresented in sectors where jobs are disappearing, including travel, retail and hospitality. Graduates are facing unprecedented competition for even entry-level positions from a tsunami of newly laid-off workers.

在就業機會正在消失的產業裡年輕人比例過高，這些產業包括旅遊、零售與餐館飯店業。畢業生即便謀求基層職位，也得與一海票剛遭解雇的勞工進行空前激烈的競爭。

The scarring effects may linger. “If you’re unemployed earlier on in your career, you’re more likely to experience joblessness in the future,” said Neal Kilbane, a senior economist at Oxford Economics.

牛津經濟研究院資深經濟學家尼爾•基爾班表示，這種疤痕效應可能會持續下去。「若在個人職涯早期就失業，未來失業的可能性就更大。」

The European Union is trying to cushion the blow by encouraging businesses to recruit young people. But such programs may have little impact as Europe confronts its worst recession since World War II.

歐盟正嘗試透過鼓勵企業招聘年輕人來緩解這一衝擊，但在歐洲面對二戰以來最嚴重經濟衰退之際，這類計畫只恐成效甚微。

Europeans coming of age in the pandemic are lowering their expectations of the jobs and careers they can get. Many are resorting to internships, living with parents or returning to school to ride out the storm. Young workers without higher education risk sliding even further.

在疫情期間成年的那些歐洲人，已壓低自身對於可獲得工作與職涯的期望。許多人利用實習、與父母同住或者重回學校來度過危機。未受過高等教育的年輕勞工，前景更不容樂觀。

說文解字看新聞【陳韋廷】

新冠疫情重創歐洲經濟與就業，25歲以下青年失業問題尤為嚴重，最新統計顯示9月約有299萬人找無頭路，專家甚至擔憂畢業即失業，對年輕人未來職涯影響恐持續一輩子，文中以表示「持續、徘徊」的單字linger來形容這一潛在影響，此字還有「逗留、拖延」之意，linger over one's work則指的是工作拖拉不認真做事。

unemployment為一常見新聞單字，跟文中另一單字joblessness均指「失業」，而疫情下企業裁員造成的非自願性失業，英文則說成involuntary unemployment，失業救濟金則是unemployment benefits，另外常聽到某人「待業中」的英文則是between jobs。

又entry-level position字面意義為「入門級職位」，文中譯成「基層職位」，疤痕效應則指的是一個人若曾失業，影響將很難在短期內消失，並會對往後就業有長久影響。