Misspent moolah

My hometown of Memphis, Tenn., is the poster child for wasting money. In the early '90s, we spent $62 million building a pyramid-shaped basketball arena. (It was a play on Memphis, Egypt -- aren't we clever?). Our college and NBA teams used the arena, but apparently, it wasn't good enough. Ten years later, we shelled out another $250 million to build an entirely new complex for our Grizzlies, condemning the Pyramid to years of lonely, debt-ridden, pointy abandonment.\nNow plans are in the works to turn it into a Bass Pro Shop. \nI kid you not: Jon Stewart couldn't have made that up if he tried. \nWhile IU might not throw money away on very empty, very tacky buildings, the University has funded dubious projects in the past while ignoring others that deserve more attention. My personal favorites among overlooked causes, as you may have guessed, involve "greening the campus" -- that is, making it more environmentally friendly. To do so, IU would have to cough up funds up front for such overhead as energy audits and the purchasing of less wasteful utility equipment. These funds, however, would be an investment, significantly lowering utility and waste-disposal costs over time. But as it stands, the state and board of trustees simply do not give the IU Physical Plant enough money to make such logical, effective changes.\nSo why don't the powers that be find it important to fund a cause that's so vital to the University's future? Other state-funded schools, including Purdue and Ball State, have nevertheless managed to make conservation-oriented changes. \nThe main differences between us and them are our priorities. Let's take a look at IU's spending habits, shall we? For example, there's the matter of the ludicrous salaries we've paid to certain coaches who don't even work here anymore.\nBut I digress.\nNot only does the University make such poor fiscal decisions on its own, but it allows student organizations to throw away student dollars on ridiculous projects. Consider that last month IUSA approved $5,000 to a campus group called "Students Against Terrorism" to hand out anti-terrorism T-shirts. Although everyone knows that IU has long been a hotbed of insurgent activity, that venture didn't succeed in quelling insurgent discontent or capturing Osama bin Laden.\nAll it did was proudly announce to the world that we, the IU student body, do not want to get blown up.\nIt's easy to blame the University for wasting our tuition and tax dollars and neglecting more pressing issues. But wait! There's a way to address this misguided spending.\nBelieve it or not, the board of trustees and the administration are both willing to listen to the students, whom the institution was originally designed to serve. If we advocate for change, there is a good chance that our "higher-ups" will listen to us.\nIf we don't speak up, all we will end up with is another Ruckus. As it stands, we aren't being cheated -- we're cheating ourselves.