As college begins for the year and all of the students get settled into their routines, I have noticed some puzzling changes around the campus.

First, there is no longer anywhere to get breakfast on campus on the weekends before 10 a.m. For those of us that get up early on the weekends, this is a major inconvenience, especially when you consider how much we spend on meal plans. I realize that there are a limited number of students that eat breakfast on the weekends; however, it would be a significant improvement even if there was only one dining center open with a reduced number of options.

In addition, I have noticed several issues in the library. The most significant of these is that there is no longer power or light to a vast majority of the desks in the tiers. The last time I was in Tier 5, there was only one desk with power access. For those of us that like to use these areas to study on a regular basis, this is an inconvenience. Without the desk lights, there is still plenty of light to work by. However, without a place to charge a laptop, the usefulness of the space is significantly limited. Cutting off power to the desks doesn’t save a significant amount of money or power, since we will likely go elsewhere in the library to study and charge our computers.

Next, the dormitories are overcrowded. Due to the university enrolling a record number of freshmen they weren’t equipped to handle, we now no longer have dens on our floors. This poses an issue for house meeting locations. As of now, house meetings typically occur in hallways, which makes it difficult to organize and control the meetings. The house dens also traditionally have been a commons area where many people go to socialize and study. Now that we no longer have these areas, it is more difficult to get to know one’s housemates.

Finally, many of the university buildings are in need of maintenance and update. These include many of the older buildings on campus, such as parts of Marston, Carver, Helser and Friley. Meanwhile, the buildings that are on the university tour like Howe, Hoover and Beardshear stay flawlessly maintained.

I realize all of these issues have arisen due to budget cuts and financial reasons, however, we also hear reports of record fundraising amounts and tuition increases. Perhaps the university could more wisely allocate its funds, which would help to eliminate the need for such cuts.

I see many examples of this around the campus. First, the university can still afford to water the grass in front of the library every morning. Second, they can put a brand new scoreboard in the football stadium, and afford the electricity to leave it turned on at all times. Finally, they can build a large addition to the State Gym complex.

As a student who pays out-of-state tuition, I see many more responsible uses of these resources. Because the university is primarily an educational institution, why not give our hard-working professors (that are among the lowest paid in the nation) a salary increase? Perhaps, it would also seem a good idea to maintain the buildings already on campus before building new ones.