In the last couple of weeks, I have seen more outrage from students and faculty over the conversion of our beloved Environmental Museum into a lab than anything else this school has done in my entire four years of attendance.

Throughout the entire time of watching these arguments go down I have had one question burning in my mind:

How the hell can this school afford to spend millions of dollars on subpar athletic programs, but can’t spare a couple thousand bucks to build a space for a new environmental lab so students can have a new work space and keep their museum to see beautiful creatures and appreciate nature?

Pace spends $1,710,855 on the football program, out of $9,032,310 for its total expenses annually, and the university only profited $102 in 2016,  according to PointAfter.

THAT’S AROUND ONE-FIFTH OF IT’S TOTAL FUNDS USED ON A TEAM THAT HAS A RECORD OF ABSOLUTE FAILURE. SINCE 2002 THERE HASN’T BEEN A SEASON WHERE THE TEAM HAS WON MORE THAN FOUR GAMES, AND YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU CAN’T SPEND A COUPLE OF BUCKS FOR A NEW SPACE FOR A LAB?

Watching football get crushed game after game literally gives me anxiety to the point I need to play with my animals to get over it.

I believe that the Deans of Dyson Nira Herrmann and Richard Schlesinger did not have ill intentions when making the decision to convert the museum and feel as though they’re doing the right thing for the environmental program.

I think that they are going about it the completely wrong way, however.

Instead of having to make sacrifices and cuts to improve the program I think they should be petitioning the administration at Pace to give them the funds to expand the program, citing all the fantastic work the program has done.

Just last week the students from the Environmental Policy Clinic presented a bill to New York Lawmakers to ban elephants from the torture they experience in circuses.

The museum is another shining example of this. It gives a safe haven to all kinds of animals who are too injured to be released into the wild. It shows that the environmental program actually cares about wildlife, and if anything it should be expanded to include more animals instead of removed.

It’s not just the museum that has gotten pushed to the side, though.

I’ve watched the environmental center as a whole become less and less relevant.  I remember back during my freshman year when walking around the environmental center I would walk to Kessel and see the goats and pet them, but now with the addition of Alumni and Elm, I have to walk for what feels like miles in order to find them.

Being an animal lover I remember how exciting it was to have  a “zoo” on campus during my freshmen orientation, it played a factor into what made me want to choose Pace over my other college choices.

Many students, myself included, enjoy relaxing at the Environmental Museum and would very much like to see it stay. It’s part of what makes Pace great. I fear that unless we take a stand now our campus will be completely devoid of a nature center in a couple of years. I hope any administration reading this will take my words into consideration.