You Want What?

Last night I got a call and right off the bat it sounded like a solicitor, which makes me already doubly mad since I only have a cell phone and that is illegal. The girl on the phone pretend to care how I was doing and then said she was from my college, so I didn't immediately hang up on her. Then it came, "We are calling all seniors to see how much they want to donate to the senior gift."
You're calling me to see how much I want to give? Seems like I would have given already if I wanted after all the mailings you have sent to my house in the last month and emails I get over thevarious listserves. I told her that I wasn't going to give the school anymore money until I finished paying them what I owe now and hung up.
I know it is stupid and pointless to get all upset about this, but it does irk me that they are calling me, emailing me, and mailing me trying to get me to donate to this project. Their big marketing ploy is that you can get your name in one of the bricks, at the price of several hundred dollars. As if college students really have hundreds of dollars just burning a whole in their pockets, much less on some project that won't be completed until well after they leave. It also bothers me that this was picked as our senior project. As many probably already know, I have a big problem with academically approved sports and the unfair treatment. (Yeah, I know. Unoriginal.) But at my campus, in this region where football and sports are god, they already get plenty of money from the school for their brand new stadiums and athlete only gyms. On the other hand, two of the buildings where my classes are taught still have lead in the pipes. It may not be glamorous, but it would be great if we could get a few of the older buildings restored on the outside and renovated on the inside. Or we could build another pedestrian bridge to ease traffic at Hampton and Greene. I bet everyone would be happy with those results. (There are daily traffic accidents and pedestrian accidents at that corner.) Or build another parking garage since campus parking is extremely out of hand this year. (Did I mention they took a parking lot away for the soccer field and athlete gym?) Or buy buses for the shuttles that don't billow out black smoke and have doors that actually open.
It doesn't have to be something practical even. There are also lots of areas on campus that are neglected horticultural wise, which is a shame when you see the rest of the campus which is green and well taken care of. Or they could build that campus wide wi-fi they have been trying to get funded for two years now.
Or even better, we could do something off of campus that actually had a community, state, or world impact. I can't tell you how many times we have been told in a speech, "You are the future generation. You will be the ones to change the world." Well why not get started now? Students are always protesting about something, why not donate to a cause that people believe in, or pay for a group of students to go do the service work.
My point is, there are just so many better things we could do with our time, money and energy than make another baseball stadium. Or at the very least, don't call me looking for money if that is what you decide to do.