Sacramento State has recently been awarded $635,000 in lottery funds by Chancellor Charles Reed. These funds came to the campus from the state, with no strings attached. Of these funds, $317,500 of it is allotted for the advancement of technology on campus.

The other half of the funds will be distributed by Provost Bernice Bass de Martinez with final say from President Donald Gerth. The State Hornet would like to propose a few ways for the university administration to spend these funds. Our ideas range from the possible to the far-fetched. We’ll start with the most likely first.

o First of all, fund the evening program at the Children?s Center. Please. The parents and children who need this service deserve to have it funded. And it?s only $20,000.

o Install more lights on campus for student and staff safety. Nights around our campus are quite dark. And our walkways and parking lots need to be better lit for safety.

o Replace the projectors stolen from the Communication Studies and Criminal Justice Departments over the last two months.

o Buy some comfortable couches and chairs for the University Union and, most importantly, Mariposa Hall.

o Fund a search for a Donald Gerth replacement. Certainly $317,500 is more than enough to pay for a new president ? our university could use some new ideas in Sacramento Hall.

o Improve the campus shuttle service. With more shuttles, more stops and more routes, students would have more options available to get to school. Not only that, it could also help alleviate the campus parking problem.

Now, a few off-the-wall ideas for the money:

o Purchase contraceptives for campus squirrels. Preferably it should be ortho-tricyclen so that they would have nice fur and not worry about getting pregnant.

o Build a casino in the overflow parking lot. South Lake Tahoe is too far away.

o Buy another ASI. It would be cheaper than paying for the current one we have ? and the budmight get balance!

o Start our own campus-wide lottery. It would be a great way to raise money for campus improvements.

While many of these suggestions will never come into fruition, we believe that it’s important for the university administration to use the monies wisely and in a manner that would most benefit the campus community.