By Beacon Editorial Board
12,000,000 dollars. Wow. That's a lot of zeros. It's almost an unimaginable amount of money. And what can be done with that much money is equally, if not more, incredible.
The generosity of Darlene and Donald Shiley in giving such a momentous amount is moving. It is our belief that the benefits of such a gift will go beyond dollar amounts.
Not only will the donation benefit engineering students by providing them with new facilities, but hopefully, it will set an example for other alum and encourage them to give back to the school that gave them their start. This gift could be the beginning of a localized "pay it forward" phenomenon, which could forge a stronger connection between past, present and future UP students.
This much money has inconceivable potential and power to positively impact our campus.
The sad fact is prospective students often choose a school based on aesthetics. A school with impressive, up-to-date facilities will certainly be more of a draw than a school with archaic, retro buildings with 70s color schemes.
UP's engineering facilities will definitely be improved by this gift and for that we have the Shileys to thank.
But what about the other, needier parts of campus that University officials claim to have high on a list of priorities?
What about Howard Hall, which students note daily as being one basketball practice away from crumbling?
What about Buckley Center, which anyone can see is in dire need of a remodel?
What about the ever increasing need for residence halls? What about the overcrowded parking lots?
Will these things ever be fixed?
Who can say?
We understand that the school is dependent on gifts in order for all of these improvements to be made, so we can only hope that other alum will follow in the Shileys' footsteps. Then, finally, our campus might begin to step into this century.
This isn't to say that we aren't grateful for what has been given.
At the very least, this huge gift will be movement in the right direction that will no doubt benefit scores of engineering students.
All of the rest of us will just have to have to wait our turn.
