Campus construction becomes an even hotter topic with every new project that starts, and right now we are at the crossroads of two projects that are absolutely campus-altering. The Community Center project and, now, the construction on the Mall as part of the new cooling plant project are inarguably damaging to the student experience on campus, and with some of these projects forecasted not to be completed until over half of the current student body graduates, many are understandably upset that they have to suffer through the restrictions of construction without being able to enjoy the fruits of the finished products. However, I have seen and heard a lot of misguided and misdirected frustration about campus construction in the past year. I’m not here to say nobody should be upset about the construction and how much longer it is taking than expected — I am part of the group that will graduate before these projects are completed — but rather eliminate some of the misdirected frustrations the campus construction has caused.

The most common misconception I have heard about campus construction is about the resources Wabash College has to pay for major campus improvements. Too often I hear students say, “Wabash has a $450 million endowment, why do they have to raise my tuition?” or, “We pay so much money to go here, why can the College not provide XYZ?” My simplest answer to these complaints is Wabash does not have the vast wealth of money and resources many people think it does. Last year, President Feller gave a State of the College talk to students and said Wabash needs to increase its endowment $100 million above baseline growth by 2032 just to meet its needs and any additional improvements would require even more endowment growth. Included in those needs are faculty and staff salaries, which have declined in real value over the last seven years, deferred campus maintenance, updating online infrastructure and reducing endowment draw to achieve more sustainable growth.

Students have been very vocal about the amount of broken, defunct or not-up-to-standard features of our campus. Those problems are very real, but many students don’t realize how quickly everything adds up. I serve as the student representative on the Ad Hoc Committee for Campaign Planning for Wabash’s next proposed capital campaign, and the aforementioned needs of the College are a central part of the campaign. Without even putting in much thought, Campus Services and administration found over $60 million in deferred maintenance around campus that Wabash simply does not have right now. The next time you see something broken around campus or an old part of a building that desperately needs renovation, keep in mind that the College knows about it and wants to fix it, but there are tens of millions of dollars in other things around campus that need the same amount of updating. The College can’t do everything all at once.

Another misconception I’ve heard, albeit much less common, is that administration has no consideration for how students’ lives will be affected by construction. This argument is both very shallow and has no logical base. The administration wants construction to be done quickly just as much as you do. When campus looks complete, recruiting new students becomes easier and more people are likely to give to Wabash. Furthermore, on a more human level, they want us as students to enjoy our Wabash experience and they are aware that half of the campus being under construction is not the best way of achieving that. Don’t believe me? Go ask any of the administrators. Talk to them face-to-face rather than screaming into the void or hateposting on YikYak.

President Feller said in his State of the College talk last year that Wabash is building for our sons, and he meant that literally. A lot of the facilities we enjoy on campus now were not around when our parents were in college, and the facilities our sons will get to enjoy are on the way. Many of us students now may not be around to see the completion of the construction projects going on around campus, but we can still be proud of the campus we are leaving behind and happy that the next generation of Wabash men can enjoy a College with even better facilities than we are enjoying now.