It seems now that every year brings the same conversation.
With the prospect of tuition continuing to rise, and with the universities plan for those tuition dollars being so controversial, the discussion inevitably comes to construction. It’s not surprising, really, construction is the one thing that is constantly in our face on campus. We see it almost every day and often times it gets in our way.
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The talk about the proposal to build an on-campus stadium has only intensified the debate, with many students raising eyebrows (and voices) regarding what they consider to be a gross misallocation of funds for something that (recent success of our football team aside) doesn’t appear to deserve a $250 million investment.
A lot of the on campus construction seems odd as well. The decision to renovate the Lory Student Center over other buildings such as Eddy (where the air conditioning and heating still don’t work properly in places), Clark, Education and Military Sciences. Of all of the buildings to renovate, why would you renovate a building that is relatively new looking and doesn’t have any obvious problems?
Many people often scoff at the idea of improving buildings primarily for their aesthetic quality. It’s a waste of time, they say. What’s inside the building is much more important, they say.
But, you know what, it may be time to give this campus a bit of a facelift.
Speaking as someone who will soon be an alumni of Colorado State, I want to look back at my alma mater with a sense of pride that I went to CSU over all of the universities that I could have chosen to attend. Regardless of how good my education was (which it was, I would say that I’ve had a phenomenal education), people are going to judge the worth of that education based on what my school looks like.
Humans have an odd association between somethings’ worth and what it looks like. It’s why advertisers spend an ungodly amount of money on making things look good. Its why fast food advertisements by make-up artists for the food. It’s why video game producers try to spend as much money as they can to make a game look photorealistic. It’s why every brand of clothing or cosmetic photoshops their models.
If it looks good, it must be good. If it looks bad, it must be bad. That’s the connection that is made.
This is completely selfish of me, but I don’t want the perception of my education to suffer from that connection. My campus may currently look like a collection of old, worn out buildings, but that says nothing for what my education here is.
So, by all means CSU, renovate every building on campus. From the end-product artwork, a lot of the buildings that are scheduled for renovation look amazing. Wow me the next time I visit this campus as an alum.
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Heck, I might even donate some of my hard-earned money for the cause. When I actually have hard-earned money to give, of course.
Editorial Editor Caleb Hendrich is a soon-to-graduate political science and journalism double major. Letters and feedback can be sent to letters@collegian.com
