Each year DePauw University receives donations for new buildings or projects around campus, and for each large gift given, President Brian Casey announces the news and The DePauw publishes an article.
This is nothing new. It can almost be considered "old news." It's just another new building. We as an editorial board are thankful to these donors for their generous donations, but with all the plans for new construction we ask: what about the buildings we already have?
The DePauw 2020 plan proposes the addition of new residence halls, a new dining hall, the renovation of Roy O. West Library, the redesigning of the Memorial Student Union Building and the transformation of Bowman park into a central gathering place.
Let's be honest: DePauw is old and so are its buildings. Students know from living in the residence halls, studying in the library and attending class that things are falling apart and are in need of repair. Rooms often feel frigid, lacking necessary heat from adequate heaters. Asbury Hall, along with many dorms, do not have elevators and there have been issues of mold growing in various residence halls causing students to move.
Currently, at the end of each fiscal year a comprehensive building assessment is completed, Brad Kelsheimer, vice president of finance and administration, said. The university prioritizes the buildings first on safety, second on the building's structure, third on its function such as heat and finally on aesthetics.
However, the issue is not with the prioritizing of repairs. It is with the lack of funds to make these repairs.
In 2008 when the market crashed, the University's endowment dropped by over $100 million, thus shrinking its operational budget. This is a budget in our opinion that shouldn't have been hit at all. Because this budget is now so thin, buildings go untouched and will eventually reach that point where they will be beyond repair. In order to avoid this happening, the University needs to look at where the donations are (and should be) going.
We appreciate our alumni giving back and showing us they care about the university, but we ask again: if we can't maintain the buildings we already have, how can we justify building new ones?