The University of New Hampshire has been getting a lot of heat this past week for choosing to spend $1 million of the $4 million left behind by UNH library cataloger, Robert Morin, on a fancy new football scoreboard. UNH students and alumni alike are livid about this seemingly selfish decision and as a current Wildcat myself, I can’t find it in myself to support this decision either. The University of New Hampshire can’t seem to get it’s act together and continues to make the same mistake of spending excessive amounts of money on unnecessary and frivolous purchases. And so, listed below is the ranking of the University of New Hampshire’s most expensive and questionable decisions:
8. Scanning fingerprints instead of ID’s.
It’s not only weird and uncomfortable that UNH has decided to collect students’ fingerprints but it now takes twice as long to get into the dining halls. The scanning rarely ever works on the first try and if you have an apparently invisible fingerprint like I do, you’ll be holding up the entire line for five minutes.
*Hilarious side note: The freshmen now have to use their middle fingers to scan in
7. The new non-functional mailroom.
Aesthetically pleasing from the outside, it’s almost understandable why UNH decided to invest in such an unnecessary purchase. However, it’s highly unlikely the university predicted how much chaos this investment would create and expected how long the lines would be to pick up a letter from grandma.
6. Renovating Horton but not the basement…?
Horton was long overdue for a renovation, there’s no doubt. But instead of renovating Horton the same way McConnell was renovated, UNH decided to leave the basement the sweltering Hell it was and jumble up the bathrooms so that no one would ever be able to find them.
5. The pool that’s open for about two weeks
We go to a school in New England, where about 75% of the school year is not suitable for bathing suits. Purchasing a pool that the actual students can only use for about two weeks (it’s closing next week, by the way) is a difficult choice to get behind.
4. The new $100,000 logo.
Not only is the new logo ugly and boring (we look like a health insurance company) but it was a 100 grand expense that could’ve been avoided if you gave any student an hour and access to Photoshop.
3. The $25 million football stadium that lacks a new student section.
UNH just spent $25 million on a beautiful brand new football stadium but luckily enough for students, the seating situation hasn’t changed a bit. Despite building brand new bleachers for the rest of the home crowd, current students are still fortunate enough to squeeze onto the metallic bleachers most often seen at high school sporting events.
2. The light up table in HoCo.
For a reason that no one will ever understand, UNH decided to invest $17,000 into a fun light up table for the main dining hall on campus. The average age population of the University of New Hampshire is between 18 and 22 but it’s understandable to see how the university would think a light up table might interest everyone.
1. And of, course, the million dollar football screen.
As if spending $25 million on the new football stadium wasn’t enough, UNH decided to invest another million into a scoreboard. Check out Claire Cortese's trending opinion on the decision.
I’m proud to be a wildcat here at the University of New Hampshire. I love the people and I love the school but it’s getting more and more difficult to defend the frivolous choices my school continuously makes. It’s time to step up your game, UNH, before your students lose all of their wildcat pride and loyalty.
