Sacramento State is going under the knife for a multi-million dollar implant.

An implant of sprawling commercial space, to be exact.

According to Bob Shallit’s Oct. 6 article in the Sacramento Bee, University Enterprises Inc. is pushing a proposal to construct a “Harvard-square type urban village.”

The complex is to be funded by private contractors. When constructed, it will cover six to 18 acres of campus grounds with housing, retail, restaurants, and offices.

The project seems like a positive step forward at first glance. It could provide more job opportunities for students. Its revenues would also be shared with the campus, according to the Sacramento Bee article.

No one could possibly object to more jobs and money.

But with $500 million in “private funds” being dedicated to the urban village, which will be owned by UEI, the project is spurring concerns over the university’s budgetary priorities.

With the availability of money always up in the air, it is refreshing to see it being invested toward bettering the campus. Creating more classroom space seems more important than building more places to eat and shop now that such funding is available.

But putting corporate interests first is not a surprise.

The fact that a university representative is speaking on behalf of an independent commercial entity like UEI shows how Sac State already plays lapdog to corporations.

John Kepley, special assistant to President Alexander Gonzalez, not UEI, commented on the objectives of the project.

“We make sure that any projects (University Enterprises takes on) will benefit the university and its students,” he said. “We want Sac State to have a positive impact on the community.”

Golden intentions, but it is too little too late. Corporations have already infiltrated campus grounds.

Follett owns our bookstore. Either pay the pretty penny for the convenience of textbook shopping at school or risk waiting weeks for cheaper books ordered from elsewhere.

Coca-Cola lovers have long felt the sting from Pepsi’s monopolization over every soft drink fountain and vending machine on campus.

Now, yet another commercial outlet is moving in.

If students are the priority, and education is what we’re here for, how does an “urban village” factor into that?

The project, though promising to benefit the campus and the student body, could actually be making some premature promises it cannot surely uphold.

“It’s too early in the process to discuss that,” Kepley said when asked about the project’s revenues that will be shared with the university.

Prestige seems to be a strong motivator behind most of the cosmetic changes that have taken place on campus. We have new, shiny green signs in front of every hall. We even have trash and recycling receptacles with our school logo on them.

I’m not exactly sure that pretty trash bins have positively impacted my educational experience. An on-campus shopping center doesn’t seem any more promising.

It is admirable to want to embody the famed prominence that Harvard holds, but a mini mall is hardly the fast track to Ivy League status.

Beauty is only sheet-rock deep and academic prowess isn’t something you can gain with a nip and tuck.

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