The University has begun a campaign this year in hopes of raising funds to repave the intersection of 13th Avenue and University Street to celebrate the school’s 125th anniversary. The advertising campaign for the project urges donors to purchase an engraved brick or “paver” — a stone block larger than the brick — to reserve their place at the “Heart of Campus.” The Office of University Advancement is selling the bricks (which cost $125 each, in honor of the University’s anniversary year) and pavers (which are $1,876 each, the same as the University’s founding year) to honor their achievements and create a permanent legacy for themselves.
What was the University thinking? Beautification of campus is important, but the school is facing a multimillion-dollar deficit and some buildings and programs are falling apart at the seams because the University has lacked the funding to do even the most basic repairs and maintenance.
How logical is it to ask potential donors to pony up for a campus beautification project when the school could benefit far more from soliciting donations in other areas? Fundraisers would make a bigger impact on students by seeking donations for academic programs or scholarships, or building construction or remodels — far more practical causes than lining the streets outside the Erb Memorial Union with attractive bricks.
Brick and paver buyers would fare better by creating a permanent legacy by contributing to academic research, scholarships or athletics. Certainly the repaving would be more aesthetically pleasing, but it is hard to believe that this particular project will create more of a “Heart of Campus” than what already exists. There are a number of improvement projects around campus that could make better use of hefty donations instead of bricks and pavers in front of the EMU.