Reallocate money for residence improvements

An Open Letter to the board of trustees:\nDear Trustees,\nI opened the IDS newspaper on September 25 to find a surprise: the bathroom on the first floor of the Elkin wing of Teter Center (in which I had bathed and relieved myself not 20 minutes earlier) is going to be renovated (see "3 residence halls to be renovated, Forest to get air conditioning" by Chris Freiberg). I didn't know there was anything wrong with it, but, hey, who doesn't want fancier toilets? Then I read that the project is going to cost $3 million. Are we getting golden taps? We're talking $214,000 a bathroom. Appropriate? I think not.\nNow, I don't know about you fellows, but I'm on familiar terms with at least one of these bathrooms, and I'm here to tell you that there are not that many problems with it. It is true that of the four sinks, only one has good pressure, but if you look directly above one of the weak ones, at the mirror, you will see a flier blazing the words, "DO NOT PUT FOOD IN THE SINKS!" That this sign is a necessity is a sign of how little we respect the resources entrusted to us. If we're going to throw stuff in it, we don't deserve anything better than what we already have.\nThe article specified that renovations will include improvements to the shower stalls to increase privacy. Those stalls are already pretty private. To get to the shower in Elkin 1, one must pass through two curtains and enter a stall which is separated from its neighbor by a solid wall. Granted, the curtains are a little nasty, but to replace them would cost, what? Fifty bucks each?\nNow, I don't disagree with your financial plan entirely; I think the new greenhouse will be great, taking asbestos out of the dorms can't hurt and on-campus housing in South Bend is overdue. But if you're looking for a way to burn $3 million, how about installing some more bike lanes on campus? While I've never heard anyone complain about the showers, I get comments everyday about how scary my zipping by to avoid SUVs is.\nOr if you're set on the bathrooms, don't flush cash on showers. Give to the ladies that clean them daily. Their job sucks, yet they're the nicest people on campus. It would be good of you if they could afford to take such care of their own homes.\nI haven't been in Bloomington long, and I won't pretend to know exactly what I'm talking about, but I do know ridiculous when I see it, and I encourage you to reconsider.\nSincerely,