They swarm in every visible direction. Frenzied beasts with gnashing teeth and an appetite for blood flail about with reckless intent. 

A thunderous din arises from their throats, but the only language they can speak consists of manically infuriated babblings. Am I reading from the latest zombie apocalypse screenplay?  

YU

No, this was the reaction to the announcement from University officials that UGA must cut another $60 million from its budget. The threat of staff layoffs, tuition increases — up to 77 percent — and deductions in programs and services has incited vehement protest.

On a separate note, I have already pitched the script for “Dawn of the Whiny College Student with Massive Sense of Entitlement” to a number of movie studios. Universal is considering it. Warner Brothers is considering it. Disney said no.

The rabid mob needs a reality check. Money is finite. It doesn’t grow on trees. It doesn’t spring from a fountain. It doesn’t float around in the sky. 

We can’t slay a dragon and raid its cave for a gleaming horde of treasure.  

I’m pretty sure if we approached Johnny Depp and demanded that he take us to the pile of cursed Aztec gold at Isla de Muerta, he’d just slam the door in our faces.

The sputtering economy has been discussed ad nauseam. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that many institutions have been left in a dismal place with very difficult decisions to make. 

Cutting the budget is always the last resort, but it is the only option available now. 

Yes, I’m sure University officials have already ruled out catching a leprechaun and forcing him to surrender his pot of gold.

The resources needed to educate students require money — astronomical amounts. 

When that money goes away, so must the resources. It’s not really that hard of an equation. Pleading and ranting can’t bring resources back. Only money can.

By entering college, we agreed that we will one day accept the responsibility to foster a more prosperous world. The day to take on that burden has come. 

The school has done its best to shield us from harsh realities, but now it’s time for us to start bearing the consequences — no matter how grave — of our troubled times.

We cannot be so pompous as to believe our needs must be placed above all else. I often hear students bemoaning how baby boomers will have depleted Social Security by the time our generation retires. 

How ironic it is now that students are the ones demanding more taxpayer money. 

What gives us the right to feel entitled to money in such a stingy era? 

In truth, helping a frail, aging person who lacks the strength to work pay for medication is much more important than preserving our school’s intramural squash league.

It may be possible that more efficient spending and clever reallocation of funds can alleviate our plight, but the school will still have much to sacrifice. 

We, as functioning, contributory members of society, must sacrifice alongside society.

Gone are the days when we could merely insulate ourselves in an ivory tower.

If we want to see a brighter tomorrow, we must weather the storm too.

—Michael Yu is a senior from Houston, Texas, majoring in newspapers