In the current economic state of the entire country, the question of whether practicality or integrity reigns supreme is an important one. However, even more so at a public university such as the University of California Los Angeles than at a private institution, money needs to come first.
Every year, fees are increased and classes are dropped because of budget cuts. Yet no matter what requests these large donors may hold in return for their check, at the end of the day these individuals still care enough about higher education to donate large sums of their personal wealth for the greater good.
It is sad that universities big and small, private and public, are now forced to choose between holding onto a school’s past of important traditions and reaching out to brighten the school’s future, through accepting donations to go toward updated equipment, building renovations and new facilities altogether.