By The Beacon Editorial Board
Many on the editorial board, and surely other students as well, can remember our initial tours of campus during our search for colleges.
They might also remember how our guides sheepishly strolled by Howard Hall without even walking in - perhaps out of shame - or perhaps not to damage their sales pitch.
Yes, Howard Hall is decrepit and in need of some serious donor TLC. The administration acknowledges it, the students know it and the tour guides do their best to skirt it.
What is even more neglected, though - and we argue even more necessary - is a suitable student center.
The university community needs a replacement or massive overhaul of St. Mary's long before it needs a new athletic facility.
Howard Hall serves only the community members who are inclined to athletic endeavors, and only those endeavors through Howard Hall. Although that is a considerable number of students, St. Mary's houses some of the most arterial student groups.
ASUP is centered in St. Mary's, and through them, all student clubs are managed.
The Moreau Center for Service and Leadership manages a whole host of community service opportunities and service-learning programs.
The Log and The Beacon critically follow and report the happenings on campus and create a tangible hold on our past.
Whether organized by Student Activities or others, the number of events run out of St. Mary's each week is enough to keep it busy each day.
Beyond the offices, students come to St. Mary's lounge to study, socialize and, yes, even sleep.
Despite filling these student demands, St. Mary's can't keep up with demand for much longer.
Two years ago, deteriorated electrical wiring sparked a fire in St. Mary's. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but this near-catastrophe underscored the worrisome absence of even basic modern systems.
It's no surprise a fire alarm system was soon after installed.
Remedies like this exemplify the seat-of-the-pants, ramshackle nature of the building. The small repairs and cosmetic improvements over the years are ultimately patch jobs to a dilapidated building.
St. Mary's does not currently meet students' needs for a student center, but this doesn't have to remain the case.
While throwing money at a problem is rarely the solution, the case of St. Mary's might just be the exception to that rule of thumb.
With that said, we have no illusions that the priorities of UP may be on more pressing concerns. All the same, St. Mary's is and should be recognized as one of those pressing concerns - if it's not already.
Almost serendipitously, during the writing of this editorial, a window in The Beacon office unexpectedly shattered from years of wear and tear. Perhaps merely a coincidence, the incident is but one more in a laundry list of similar signs of St. Mary's age.
When it comes to a structure so essential to the life of students, ignorance is not bliss.
