2008 Woodie Awards
Inauguration Ceremony Costs Exorbitant
Our Opinion
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Commentary
It was a pleasant weekend. Even the most staunch expenditure hawks must admit that. It was exciting for students, administration officials and invited dignitaries alike to join and celebrate what, for President Michael Hogan, is a worthwhile and memorable life event. But every time one of these events happens, all in the name of tradition, the price tag is a pertinent topic of conversation. This time the cost was $170,000 - and it seems like too much to celebrate the inauguration of UConn's 14th president. For all of the pomp and circumstance involved, it just seems a little bit silly.
The most absurd individual expenditure must be the invitations, which in of themselves cost $29,000. If that sum seems exorbitant, it's because it is. The planning committee, according to Karen Grava, director of media communications, "felt that the invitations represented the university, so they had to be of top quality." It is unlikely Gov. Rell would have felt slighted if Connecticut taxpayers and UConn tuition-payers were saved a little money by invitations of a less regal design or construction - even if a lesser invitation was sent to Rell herself.
To argue that because the cost per student is manageable at under $10 each, cancelling the ceremony would not have saved any real money for students, is fallacious. While $10 per student is no real burden, adding all those $10 bills together amounts to real money which could have been put to better use around the university.
Sure, the money could be thrown into the general coffers of the university, or into its pool of available financial aid funds, but there a lot of minor annoyances students encounter daily which could be remedied by the extra money.
There is a lack of locks at the Student Recreation Facility during peak times, so the purchase of a few more might alleviate some student frustration, along with a couple more racquets and new cans of racquetballs. The shuttle bus to Hartford and Bradley International Airport could be subsidized so as to present only a nominal cost, or no cost, to student travelers. The price of caps and gowns for graduating seniors could have been lowered below the $23-and-change now required to walk proudly into the collegiate sunset.
Certainly these are only suggestions and examples - of which there are countless more - for causes that are perhaps more worthy. But they illustrate that $170,000 can indeed be better spent on more important things. A streamlined ceremony with a little less food and less-glamorously designed invitations would have saved a lot of money which could be put to better use. Instead, students watched much-needed cash go up in smoke.
The most absurd individual expenditure must be the invitations, which in of themselves cost $29,000. If that sum seems exorbitant, it's because it is. The planning committee, according to Karen Grava, director of media communications, "felt that the invitations represented the university, so they had to be of top quality." It is unlikely Gov. Rell would have felt slighted if Connecticut taxpayers and UConn tuition-payers were saved a little money by invitations of a less regal design or construction - even if a lesser invitation was sent to Rell herself.
To argue that because the cost per student is manageable at under $10 each, cancelling the ceremony would not have saved any real money for students, is fallacious. While $10 per student is no real burden, adding all those $10 bills together amounts to real money which could have been put to better use around the university.
Sure, the money could be thrown into the general coffers of the university, or into its pool of available financial aid funds, but there a lot of minor annoyances students encounter daily which could be remedied by the extra money.
There is a lack of locks at the Student Recreation Facility during peak times, so the purchase of a few more might alleviate some student frustration, along with a couple more racquets and new cans of racquetballs. The shuttle bus to Hartford and Bradley International Airport could be subsidized so as to present only a nominal cost, or no cost, to student travelers. The price of caps and gowns for graduating seniors could have been lowered below the $23-and-change now required to walk proudly into the collegiate sunset.
Certainly these are only suggestions and examples - of which there are countless more - for causes that are perhaps more worthy. But they illustrate that $170,000 can indeed be better spent on more important things. A streamlined ceremony with a little less food and less-glamorously designed invitations would have saved a lot of money which could be put to better use. Instead, students watched much-needed cash go up in smoke.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
Ross Gionfriddo
posted 4/18/08 @ 11:46 AM EST
THAT'S what you're concerned about? The cost of Hogan's inauguration? $10 dollars per student?? I can think of at LEAST one media source that receives student fees in excess of $10 per student that could EASILY be put to better use. (Continued…)
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