Northwestern calls new buildings "gentrification"

In the editorial today, entitled Agenda 2006, the local paper describes the new buildings on campus as gentrification.

I am not sure what they are trying to get at, but it seems to be a poor choice of words. Is having modern classroom space the same as driving out the poor, so that richer people can move in? Is having a new athletic facility pricing lower income students out of UWO?

UWO is not at fault for the gentrification here or of the UW system. Instead, it is the legislators in Madison who cut our budget and force us to raise tuition to cover the costs of running a world-class educational institution.

The Northwestern should be editorializing for increasing state aid and providing more access to education, instead of suggesting that new buildings are part of a plot to change the nature of our institution.

Here is the link