Editor:
I wholeheartedly agree with the letter in Friday's Wildcat ("Try turning off lights to save funds," Nov. 3) concerning the lights being left on in the administration building along Euclid Avenue. Alas, I can only point out even more examples of needlessly wasted electricity.
That administration building is not the only one on campus that is left completely lit up throughout the night. Take a peek at the Chemistry, Marley, and Gould-Simpson buildings. Do Pacheco and his cronies all leave promptly at 5 p.m. and really not know what goes on here at night, or is it really neat and pretty to have all these buildings lit up as if the campus is some kind of red-brick Christmas tree? I invite Dr. Pacheco to take a cut in salary to keep the buildings lit just the same for the rest of his stay here. Just don't charge me for it, pal.
Another example of wasted electricity is in the Apache-Santa Cruz CCIT lab, where the air conditioning is left at full-bore, despite the fact that the rest of that building's air conditioning has been turned off for the year. Ever since the start of classes, I have watched people have to put on jeans and jackets just to use it. Is it really necessary for those high-tech terminals to be kept at 58 degrees?
And now a tip for everyone, students and staff: if you are the last one leaving a room or the bathroom, turn out the lights. That includes the executive bathroom and office, Dr. Pacheco. I know the tiles on the floor have a great time seeing one another, but give it a break. You may laugh now, but in a few short years many students on campus will be paying their own electric bills and telling their own kids to turn out the lights when they're done.
Why this campus, with its recently reported $1 billion+ budget in the coming year, has its purported financial troubles, I can only begin to guess at. Maybe someone should write a continuing column to help all of us understand why. Maybe a few bean counters' heads should roll. Maybe, and I know this is a crazy one being in the desert, we shouldn't water everything in the middle of the day, when the water is just going to evaporate. I don't know. Maybe someone does.
Jason Fields
Math and Physics Junior