What does UK actually need? Updated classroom buildings.

Many students complain about on-campus parking, or the lack thereof. While their complaints are not unwarranted, the university seems to pay more attention to building new dorms, rather than adding much needed parking for students. I think there is a more important issue at hand.

UK wants to attract students, as any public university would. However, when a student comes to tour UK, are they going to show them White Hall and Funkhouser or Gatton and Champions Court?

Every student who lives on campus at UK will complain about student parking. Unfortunately, this is slow to happen because the focus on construction the last several years has focused on campus housing.

That is not to say UK has completely ignored campus reconstruction of classroom facilities. The Gatton College of Business and Economics received a major renovation that began in 2013 and rang up a $65 million budget.

This was part of Kentucky’s capital improvement plan (House Bill 7) that was approved under Governor Beshear. This plan was set to include Gatton, a new science building and the improvements that were made to Kroger Field and the football amenities.

Current projects for the renovation and upgrade of UK’s campus include the Student Center renovation and expansion, set to wrap up this fall, the Little Library renovation and a new health science research building, supposedly to be finished this spring.

These are all admirable efforts by university officials to get the campus moving in the right direction in terms of an up-to-date college experience. However, it is imperative that primary buildings nearly every student occupies at some point during their UK experience should be the focus of these efforts.

Buildings of this nature include the White Hall Classroom Building (1969), the Funkhouser Building (1942) and Patterson Office Tower (1968).

Does it seem like UK is now the University of Kenstruction? Yes, to alumni, our campus is almost unrecognizable and filled with constant road and sidewalk closures. But at least it can be said they are trying to give students a better campus experience.

In terms of priority, it would make more sense to upgrade more commonly used and older buildings ahead of building new ones.

Perhaps the higher-ups have information most students do not to support their reasoning behind these upgrades.

In the long-run though, some would much rather see Kentucky give students the classroom experience they so desperately spend years of high school looking for than throwing up parking garages.