In the most recent Student Government elections, students had the opportunity to vote for their student leaders, but they also had the option to vote on a fee increase that would have paid to renovate the Union Theater. The fee increase did not pass.
At the time of the fee’s proposal, Union administrators said other options had been pursued to fund the project but because of major increases in construction costs after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a supplemental increase of $34 needed to be added to the $60 increase was already approved by the student body to renovate the Union, including the theater.
But now, Union administrators scramble to find private investors to pick up the $24 million tab to renovate the Union Theater.
These renewed efforts to raise private funds for the project also raise a number of questions that have yet to be answered sufficiently.
Why weren’t these private funds pursued with any gusto before asking students to foot the bill? Who is going to be able to provide funding now that wasn’t able to before? And if private funds weren’t available a few months ago, is the renewed effort a waste of time?
Most importantly, is this new effort going to cost more money in the way of promotional packets, advertisements and business plans that show potential investors how their money will be spent? In short, are Union officials going to spend money they don’t have to raise funds that they couldn’t find before?
Something doesn’t wash with how administrators are trying to renovate the Union Theater. Either they misrepresented how unsuccessful fundraising efforts were in the past, or they are pursuing a fool’s errand in seeking funds now, potentially wasting additional time and money.
It is impossible to deny that the Union Theater needs to be renovated. A quick walk through the facility will quickly prove that to any naysayers.
But Union administrators need to come clean about where this funding is supposed to come from, and whether they truly and vigilantly tried to secure funding for the project in the past. If they did not and simply turned to students to pay for it, there is an even greater problem with the whole affair. If this is the case, it shows that University administrators think of students as bottomless money pits to whom they may turn to cover the cost of any project, regardless of how important it is.
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