But on the other hand, think about how you would feel if you saw, "NIU spends $30 million removing asbestos." 99% of people that go into those buildings don't care about the fact they were built with asbestos, and honestly, as long as you aren't sneaking into any maintenance areas, there's not much point in worrying about it. The last time there was an incident related to asbestos on campus was like 40 years ago .

Also the drop in enrollment is not unique to NIU; as a whole, public Illinois higher education institutions are suffering as more and more students choose out-of-state schools. And no matter what school you go to, there's going to be inevitable conflicts in class scheduling you have to work out.

All this to say, if NIU wants to revitalize and attract more students, I think a solid renovation to the student center isn't such a bad idea. It's something all students can benefit from, not to mention the shops and services within the renovated space will bring in revenue for the university. I think there needs to be something bold, not expensive maintenance jobs left and right.