Last Thursday, a new $145,000 Wildcat statue was unveiled on campus. The bronze statue was entirely supported by outside donations mainly from a campus funding pool of money called “Campus Beautification.” The statue adds another photo opportunity for cute graduation pictures but how will this help students? It won’t.

We appreciate all the donors who support Chico State but we must clarify that this is not what students want or need. To simplify things for donors here’s a few dos and don’ts for donors.

Do donate to support the Wildcat Food Pantry because one in four CSU students experience food insecurity.

Don’t donate to frivolous things like statues that symbolize campus spirit. Students would much rather be able to eat than look at a statue.

Do donate to areas on campus that lack funding, like athletic programs or various colleges to help student learning. This would help take the burden off of students who have to pay inflating fees for these programs.

Don’t donate to “Campus Beautification.” Chico State is already a beautiful campus and there are other major issues that students face such as financial issues. According to a CSU report, 10 percent of CSU students are homeless. Donating to the Student Health Center would help provide these students with resources they need along with reducing the health service fees students have to pay each year.

The point of this list isn’t to chastise our donors but rather to remind them that the students need help in other areas.

This statue has been in planning stages for about 10 years now. However, in this time tuition has raised by thousands of dollars. In the 2008-09 school year, undergraduate Chico State students had to pay $3,048 in tuition. In the 2017-18 school year, undergraduates had to pay $5,742 in tuition.

Student fees also have risen significantly in the past 10 years and are most likely going to rise next year as well. In the 2008-09 school year, all Chico State students had to pay $960 in campus fees. In the 2017-18 school year, students had to pay $1,606 for these same fees.

Administrators recently proposed raising the health services fee, the student learning fee and the athletics fee for next school year. The consensus is that these programs all need these increases which means students will have to pay an additional $380 per year on top of the $1,606 they already pay.

Students appreciate all donations, all we ask is that they reflect our needs.

Alex Grant can be reached at [email protected] or @AlexThomasGrant on Twitter.