The University of Miami is certainly one of the most expensive colleges to attend in the world. With the current average cost of attendance estimated at about $44,122 per year, I would think that the University would do everything in its power to minimize wasteful and useless spending, and attempt to lower this cost. From my perspective, however, that has been far from the case.
Consider, for example, our ‘Hurry Cane’ shuttle system, which has recently come under fire for its inefficient scheduling. Why, I would ask, do we need buses bigger than those in the actual metro system to take students across campus? And why, in addition, do they need to have extravagant paint jobs that probably cost thousands of dollars? There is no need for such wasteful spending and management.
With all of the talk of the University of Miami going “green,” I would also think that we would do our best to conserve energy and water. Again, this is far from the case. If you take a 3 a.m. stroll by the Richter Library, in fact, you will notice that the entire library is lit up all night. The entire downstairs, and especially all six floors of the stacks tower, are lit up like a Christmas tree 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With the number of lights in the library, one can only imagine the amount of electricity, and as a result, the amount of money, that the University is wasting. A simple flick of the switch could solve this problem.
We could also consider the University’s new purchase of electric scooters to take IT engineers to worksites on campus. These are described as being environmentally-friendly due to their lack of emissions, but I have an even better alternative to these scooters. I really think it’s a novel idea: you see, human beings have two of these things called “legs” attached to their bodies. If we move them in succession, we can generally get around fairly quickly. This, apparently, was not a good idea in the University’s view-we needed to purchase another useless commodity, wasting more money on scooters that cost thousands of dollars.
There is a plethora of other examples that can be discussed. Has anyone noticed the number of shirt-and-tied managers there are in each Chartwell’s cafeteria? I have. They usually bunch up in a circle and stare at the ceiling whenever I’m there, so I’m really not sure why we need so many of them. I should also ask why a “green” university needs to run its sprinkler system for over three hours every single night.
There are some extremely simple things we can all do to reduce this University’s spending, and increase its environmental friendliness. Surely, while most of the students on campus could probably care less about wasting money because they are too busy buying superchargers for their BMWs and Ferraris, some of us actually pay for our education and have parents who work every day to support us. I suggest the University take this into consideration, and at least spend its money in a way that is meaningful to us.
Chris Hall is a senior majoring in philosophy. He may be contacted at chall@umsis.miami.edu.