The full-time fees and tuition for an in-state student at the University of Idaho amounts to a grand total of $7,864, according to the university’s website. For that same cost, a student could buy 3,932 Mega Millions tickets and hope for a much quicker road to financial independence.
UI might just need to follow that same logic. With as many upcoming projects and vacant staff positions as UI currently has, there may never be a more important time for an influx of cash. Fortunately for Idaho’s leadership, there is an excellent opportunity coming up this Saturday to accomplish exactly that.
If the university were to invest a portion of our tuition dollars in the Mega Millions jackpot, we might just be able to get this place back on track.
President Chuck Staben announced a 2.6 percent decrease in enrollment last week. The athletic department is still dealing with a substantial deficit and an uncertain future for some sports. The projected jackpot of $1.6 billion could do plenty to address some of those problems, as well as many others around campus.
Jonah Baker | Argonaut
Additionally, there is almost no precedent for universities “investing” student dollars in this manner. In this sense, UI could make waves in the higher education community as a trailblazer for trying to take advantage of a system that is already set up to fund public schools and other ventures designed to assist the people.
If we consider just how much money would become available if UI managed to win the jackpot undivided, then the larger arguments for investment start to come into focus. CNBC reports that the odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are about one in 302.6 million, and the after-tax lump sum would amount to around $506.92 million to be reinvested into a university that could desperately use a hand.
Imagine a future in which advising sessions were administered by trained and paid professionals instead of unqualified students. What if the rapidly deteriorating façade of the Bruce Pitman Center was actually brought into the 21st century? Maybe, just maybe, a lottery win would finally give us the money necessary to properly run this university and attract a capable president who might be willing to stay around for more than one contract.
As outlandish as it sounds — and it is — literally or figuratively winning the lottery is something UI desperately needs right now. Upheaval has become the norm in Greek life, ASUI, the athletic department and higher administration that is supposed to steer the ship. Instead, it feels as if tossing around one-in-302.6-million odds is a plausible course of action.
UI administration is always trying to differentiate the university, whether it be through research initiatives, internal turmoil or the ceaseless struggle to maintain relevance in today’s day and age. Investing student money into the lottery would be exactly the kind of bold and bizarre move that would perfectly encapsulate the current state of the university. We really could use a miracle, whether it comes in the form of a more than $500 million lottery or just a little bit of stability out on campus.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jonahpbaker