Lately, attending UNCW has become an adventure; every day there is a new challenge. Recently, I had to devise a plan to walk from Suite Q to the laundry room because the whole courtyard outside of the suites was fenced off due to one of the various construction projects taking place. When I finally made it to the laundry room there was caution tape on the door, wires were hanging from boards where the ceiling should have been and men were on ladders. Yes, it’s nice that the older buildings on campus are being renovated, but it seems like UNCW is spending a lot of money on unnecessary construction projects and not putting our tuition dollars where we need them to go.

I was surprised the week before spring break when a student in Student Government Association approached me and asked for my signature for a petition against the budget cut that would do away with a large portion of professors and ultimately limit the number of classes offered for next year. Everywhere you turn, something is being done to “better” our campus. The Student Recreation Center has plans for expansion, the new psychology building is under way and there is talk of Randall Library being completely renovated to resemble Thomas Jefferson’s architecture. A budget cut? I almost had to laugh. It seems to me that our academics are getting the axe to pay for this new construction plan.

Of course nice, new buildings will help attract prospective students to UNCW, but if students aren’t able to graduate on time because of the lack of classes being offered to fund these projects then people will think twice before they send in their enrollment fees.

Unnecessary renovations and unnecessary buildings are taking away jobs from professors who could use the money in these tough economic times. They are also taking away from our already slim pickings of courses for next year. At this rate, all of us will still be around to see the completion of the campus master plan in 2015.