The 2000 senior class gift might never be built, and some students are upset.

The class gift proposal, which will restore a greenhouse that used to be attached to Old Botany, is estimated to cost about $530,000. The Class of 2000 raised $140,000.

Those students and alumni who are upset that the university isn't automatically picking up the $390,000 difference are missing the point of a gift.

A senior class gift is a thank-you to the university for all that it has done for its students. It is a physical reminder of students who once strolled the campus, attended classes and lived the Penn State experience.

To ask for Penn State's financial help would cheapen the meaning of the senior class gift. It would be more like a Penn State handout to the Class of 2000.

The greenhouse plan includes the installation of an environment friendly system called a Living Machine, which uses plants and animals to filter contaminated water. The state Department of Environmental Protection has pledged money to the Living Machines project but if the greenhouse isn't built, the state grant might be lost. Penn State President Graham Spanier, however, assured students at his fireside chat Tuesday night that the Living Machine would be built without touching the class gift funds.

Although a Living Machine would be a welcome addition to campus, the first priority for the Class of 2000 is to either find more alumni donations to completely fund the cost of the greenhouse or to simply find a less expensive class gift. If the Class of 2000 senior class gift committee had done its research properly, there wouldn't be a sudden scramble to explain from where $390,000 is going to come.

This should serve as a lesson to the 2001 senior class gift committee to make sure that something like this does not happen again. Once the committee discovers how much money the Class of 2001 will pledge to the class gift, they should make sure it is sufficient to cover the costs of placing lamp posts along the Willard Mall.