This just in, Northern Michigan University may have similar spending habits as a mom on Amazon’s “Prime Day” weekend.
This week, the North Wind’s Editorial Board focused on the university’s issues with spending, especially spending in places where money doesn’t exactly need to be spent.
One North Winder pointed out a couch with a pretty price tag located just outside The North Fork, NMU’s culinary teaching kitchen.
What makes us focus on this seating arrangement is the note that comes with the seating. As students on NMU’s campus, we feel our faculty should not be spreading so much money on seating, let alone waving it in front of our faces.
In the note, as seen above, the faculty have included the price of the three benches together, at $11,342. For most of us in-state students, this number is close to what we pay in tuition each semester. It’s frustrating to see our tuition continue to rise each semester. It’s increasingly frustrating to see almost a whole semester’s worth of money being spent on three benches.
Another note of frustration comes from the note itself. We did not need to be informed how much the benches cost — sometimes ignorance is bliss. That cliche is applicable in this situation. It almost feels like these couches are being waved around, like a show pony at a county fair. Looking at these benches, you wouldn’t think they’d be so expensive. You could say the note was written because of that, in hopes it would deter those from ruining them, but that comes to our next point.
Couches are meant to be sat on, lived in. If this note is to deter folks from sitting on the couches, why even buy the couches? Things get worn over time, that’s how life works. The note states students are to avoid eating and drinking on the couches, but most of us here at the North Wind said they wouldn’t want to even sit on these benches in fear they would spill something, or their existence would ruin the couches.
Since the note is so transparent with the money spent on these couches, we’d like other aspects of the university to be more transparent. If this much money can be spent on a couch students don’t feel comfortable sitting on, just how much money is being spent to fix items students are using everyday?
One North Winder noted a broken card scanner in the hall they live in. Although the hall says the scanner has been fixed, students still have trouble scanning after hours, and still have to call the emergency number so an RA or community advisor can let them in. How much money was spent on fixing this problem?
Our final qualm with this furniture is that it’s not even comfortable, and doesn’t go with our school colors. If we’re going to be dropping a hefty lump sum of money on furniture, can we make sure our students want to sit on it?
A North Winder who has encountered this couch says they sat on it, and was underwhelmed by its squishiness. Additionally, the color orange is nowhere near our school’s color scheme. It doesn’t have to look like a wildcat vomited green and gold on it, but it would be nice to see a color that is closer to our colors. Orange is such a stark difference it looks almost alarming.
The Northwind writers are big advocates for transparency from the university, but notes like this are transparent in a bad way. While we’re glad to be seeing a glimpse at the universities spending habits, we want to see more since our money fuels a majority of the schools revenue.
