President Bill Perry has drawn some ire in recent weeks for proposing an increase to the campus improvement fee.

The increase, which has already passed a student senate vote and awaits approval by the Board of Trustees, would increase $2.50 per credit hour in fiscal year 2011, increasing from $12 to $14.50 per credit hour. This $2.50 increase will continue yearly until the rate reaches $22 per credit hour in fiscal year 2014.

Questions have been raised regarding the proposal. Should Perry be allowed to increase a fee that was initially introduced by students?

Should students really be required to foot the bill for improvements to our campus when the cost to go to school is rising year after year?

It’s hard to imagine any student answering “yes” to either of these questions when a majority of them will be leaving this campus tens of thousands of dollars in debt already.

But in reality, the increase is miniscule and a necessary evil to keep our campus competitive with other state universities.

When it was announced in late February that Eastern’s athletic department unveiled a master plan to improve the campus’ athletic facilities, the news was met by horror that our university was focusing so much of its attention on athletics when our academic facilities needed improvement just as much.

That argument, however, is flawed.

The athletic department’s plan to improve facilities isn’t a sign that the university doesn’t have its priorities straight. Instead, it is a sign that Athletic Director Barbara Burke, whose sole purpose in her position is to try to improve Eastern’s athletic department in any way possible, is doing her job.

So whether you agree with the idea that a new football stadium needs to be built, you can’t fault Burke’s mindset.

As athletic director, she is trying her best to push our athletic department in the right direction.

Thus, the complaints about Perry’s proposal bring about hypocrisy.

The overused cliché is that you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Well, you can’t wish for updates to our campus and then complain when it might actually cost money to do so.

The update to our facilities is badly needed. While Doudna Fine Arts Center is a bright spot on campus, renovations are still needed at the Physical Sciences Building, as well as other buildings on campus.

This fee will help make our campus more accessible for current students and more appealing to perspective students who will be making decisions whether to attend Eastern, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois or elsewhere.

The student senate put the wheels in motion by overwhelmingly passing the campus improvement fee, and I expect the Board of Trustees to approve the fee with its vote.

And while the increase will be met with moans and groans, it shouldn’t be.

If you want our campus to be the most state-of-the-art, updated campus around, deal with the extra couple of bucks.

It’s understandably difficult in a time when money is tough to come by, but it will help our university tenfold in the long run.

Collin Whitchurch is a senior journalism major and can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected]