Finding excuses to waste money
Ryan Thompson
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Opinion
When I first heard of the idea of constructing an amphitheater on campus, I thought some students obviously did not have enough school work so they were dreaming up wild ideas. After I read a $60,000 amphitheater behind Delp Hall was being seriously considered, my suspicion that a significant portion of the student body had lost their minds became a certainty.
While I would suspect a good deal of students will get some use out of the amphitheater, I think some of my classmates and the administration seem to have suspended reality when making this decision, for a number of reasons.
First, the amphitheater will only be useable for a few months of the school year at the most. In the fall, its use will be practically limited to the first month of school, or maybe into the first week or two of October. Its use in the spring will be even more sporadic considering the cool and wet spring climate of southern Michigan. Only summer school classes could use it with any consistency. The only places where a new amphitheater might be even less useful would be Canada, Antarctica and Siberia.
Second, the construction of the amphitheater will almost certainly lead to the destruction of the natural beauty of that portion of the campus. Since I visited the Hillsdale campus in Feb. 2004, the many improvements made to the campus have resulted in the elimination of hundreds of trees across the campus. While I would never have opposed the construction of structures like the student union or Lane and Kendall halls because of the trees, the destruction of one of the last truly wooded areas of our campus for the amphitheater cannot be ignored.
Third, if a public university decided to use public funds to dig a hole in the ground that might be used by students for two months out of the school year, I promise at least someone in the administration would decry it as wasteful government spending. At Hillsdale, the administration engages in such practices and receives support from student governing bodies that could best be described as a "rubber stamp." This hole in the ground cannot be described as anything but a waste of money that could be used for many other things on this campus.
Fourth, the construction of this hole in the ground might warm the hearts of those in love with the classical tradition a little too much, but it takes money away from other more practical, far less glamorous things like fixing pedestrian walkways, raising the salaries for student employees, endowing more scholarships, etc.
While the amphitheater might seem like a unique addition to our campus, it shows a lack of foresight on the part of some students and administrators when other concerns should be dominating the agenda.
Hillsdale College Collegian 2008
While I would suspect a good deal of students will get some use out of the amphitheater, I think some of my classmates and the administration seem to have suspended reality when making this decision, for a number of reasons.
First, the amphitheater will only be useable for a few months of the school year at the most. In the fall, its use will be practically limited to the first month of school, or maybe into the first week or two of October. Its use in the spring will be even more sporadic considering the cool and wet spring climate of southern Michigan. Only summer school classes could use it with any consistency. The only places where a new amphitheater might be even less useful would be Canada, Antarctica and Siberia.
Second, the construction of the amphitheater will almost certainly lead to the destruction of the natural beauty of that portion of the campus. Since I visited the Hillsdale campus in Feb. 2004, the many improvements made to the campus have resulted in the elimination of hundreds of trees across the campus. While I would never have opposed the construction of structures like the student union or Lane and Kendall halls because of the trees, the destruction of one of the last truly wooded areas of our campus for the amphitheater cannot be ignored.
Third, if a public university decided to use public funds to dig a hole in the ground that might be used by students for two months out of the school year, I promise at least someone in the administration would decry it as wasteful government spending. At Hillsdale, the administration engages in such practices and receives support from student governing bodies that could best be described as a "rubber stamp." This hole in the ground cannot be described as anything but a waste of money that could be used for many other things on this campus.
Fourth, the construction of this hole in the ground might warm the hearts of those in love with the classical tradition a little too much, but it takes money away from other more practical, far less glamorous things like fixing pedestrian walkways, raising the salaries for student employees, endowing more scholarships, etc.
While the amphitheater might seem like a unique addition to our campus, it shows a lack of foresight on the part of some students and administrators when other concerns should be dominating the agenda.
Hillsdale College Collegian 2008
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Joe McCleary
posted 3/01/08 @ 6:18 AM EST
I agree with Mr. Thompson. Though I wouldn't have put it in such grating terms, the money could be better spent.
I would much rather see it go towards 30 $2,000 scholarships. (Continued…)
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