Fountain of expenses

I have been attending classes at ECU for four years now, and due to my schedule, there has rarely been a day when I have not walked from the Fletcher music building to West End Dining Hall. Besides a few newly added trees to the Mall and a new parking lot near the Financial Aid Building, nothing has drastically changed near central campus until the installation of the Trustees' Fountain in front of Wright Auditorium. With all of the needed upgrades that have been mentioned on ECU's Top Ten Capital Needs, this aesthetically pleasing fixture is an eye sore on the budget.

Many building projects, whether they are large or small, tend to go over the predicted budget. However, the fall 2008 edition of East magazine reported the fountain would cost $600,000. The final price tag totaled $1.18 million. Over the past few months, the main page of ECU's Web site has had report after report about the economy and budget crises. While national news reports frequently broadcasting the failing economy and job layoffs in the past few months, it is not breaking news.

This being said, it should have been common sense that the Trustees' Fountain could have been postponed until later when money for visual accessories was more readily available.

The fountain was rebuilt in order to restore an important symbol of ECU. The old fountain gracefully pumped many gallons of water for many years until a sinkhole damaged the pipes. Now, when the faculty faces layoffs, what will this new fountain represent as the university loses professors who mean more to the future of the students?

The average salary of professors at ECU as of fall 2008 is $94,900. The money used to renovate the fountain could have covered 12 average yearly salaries.

Since I have been attending classes here, I do think that ECU has spent its money wisely in a few different areas. Belk Residence Hall has recently received air conditioning units in all of its rooms, which is undoubtedly a great relief to the students that live there.

The College Hill Suites were a good addition to the residential area, and it helped house more students on campus. The renovation of the Old Cafeteria Complex serves Financial Aid, the Cashiers Office, professor offices and writing studio with spacious new offices. The televisions in Bate that display news and stocks are a great asset to business majors.

ECU has plans to add a school of dentistry and new classroom buildings for education, business, biology, science and performance arts. There are also plans to modernize the Austin building and to expand upon others. While the fountain is aesthetically pleasing and beautifully crafted, it should have been the cherry on top after all of the other necessary projects were completed.

Of all the things the university needs, the fountain will only serve the purpose of providing a pretty background for the picture of me standing next to my family and friends on graduation day.

This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.