I have a hard time believing Joe B. Hall Wildcat Lodge is in need of refurbishing, and would be surprised to find anyone who disagrees. I realize the school doesn’t control where private gifts are directed, but an additional $1.5 million seems like an unnecessarily extravagant amount of money to be spent on athletes’ living accommodations.

Sure, sports hold a treasured place in the hearts of UK students, but what kind of message does this send to the rest of campus? It seems to say that athletes deserve special privileges that the rest of us do not. Why are they any more important than members of other living/learning communities?

If UK is so dedicated to becoming a top-20 research school, perhaps more should be invested in the honors students. Instead, their living space was cut in half this year, with the closing of Boyd Hall — one of the oldest, non-air-conditioned dorms on campus.

Or take a look at the Fine Arts Building. UK has a wonderful and talented School of Music, but they do not have much of a building to show for it. It is outdated with some small classrooms and far too few practice rooms (where many of the pianos have broken keys and are out of tune). I’m sure they would appreciate gifts for “largely cosmetic improvements,” just as much as the inhabitants of Wildcat Lodge.

Perhaps UK should take private gifts into consideration when budgeting how its own money is proportioned and spent. Shouldn’t the needs of some students be placed above the privileges of others?

Megan Collins

international studies junior