There are times when we have to look around and wonder what in the world the ‘powers that be’ are doing, and why are we letting them do it? The economy is in shambles and CSUN is spending thousands to upgrade the Games Room.
Every student needs a study break once in a while, something to relieve stress. But with all the financial cutbacks going on, and there are sure to be more on the way, a few improvements to the Games Room can’t be the answer to relieve any financial problems especially not for the students.
Here’s the point. CSUN has money to buy a variety of fancy toys, but not enough to hire more professors or open a new section or two of vital classes that students desperately need to graduate.’
Where are their priorities?’ Shouldn’t we be trying to manage this school more efficiently? Make sure the money is going where it needs to? Maybe even putting in lab equipment, supplies, textbooks, or how about maintaining financial aid ahead of improving the Games Room.
The decision to upgrade the Games Room was a result of a taken by the A.S. Finance Committee last year. More than 80 percent of students said they would use the upgraded Games Room in the University Student Union. Based on that, CSUN has spent more than $4,700 on the improvements.
If someone asks students if they like playing games and would like newer ones available to them, of course the answer is yes. But does anyone ask the students where they think the money should go, or give them options of how to spend the extra money? No.
What do we get for that much money? Glad you asked. The room will be equipped with new pool tables, X-Box 360s, Playstation 3s, and Wii systems instead of the old coin-operated machines.
Everyone likes to have fun, but is this necessary, especially with the current economic state?
Did it even occur to the administration that if there was an influx of money that maybe students dependent on financial aid might be able to benefit from it more?
I know if the funds for the new Games Room had been used for a more pressing cause, it wouldn’t make a dent in our financial troubles. But not prioritizing how money is spent is absurd. Such as spending $4,700 on the Games Room and still charging students $4 an hour to play. Additionally, students will be spending many hours there when they could be studying, which in turn, produces bad grades, a possible reason why takes CSUN students an average of six years to graduate.’
It’s not that these things won’t be appreciated, but the overriding argument is too much money is being spent on luxury items. Students are here to be students. The mall is minutes away from campus, the pub is right there. CSUN should build more labs with better equipment, or how about maintaining an adequate faculty. Maybe that’s too much to ask?
Maybe a better way to reduce costs is to have the average CSUN student graduate in 5 years rather than six. That would cut cost by over 16 percent. Rather than cutting classes, thus taking students even longer to take their course requirements, my message to our school is to increase staff and classes so students can graduate sooner.
OPINION CORRECTION
Yesterday’s opinion article, ‘Education should be CSUN’s priority, not the Games Room’ by Devin Brown, stated that the funding for improvements to the Games Room came from A.S. The funding came from the University Student Union. In addition, there will not be Playstation 3’s in the new Games Room and there will be coin-operated machines.
