The greenhouse that the Class of 2000 was to have built as their gift probably would not have been appropriate to house the Living Machine, the projects director for the Center for Sustainability said yesterday.

The greenhouse was to be attached to Old Botany, modeled after one that had been there over 75 years ago.

Tania Slawecki, projects director from the Center for Sustainability, said that the greenhouse would have been built using mahogany wood.

Such wood is harvested from the rain forests in ways that the Center does not approve of.

Also, Slawecki added, the wood would have to be treated twice a year with toxic chemicals.

And this fact that doesn't sit well with the Center.

The university received a $150,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to build the Living Machine, but must use it within two years.

Slawecki said the university felt that it might take too long to raise the additional funds needed for the greenhouse, and they didn't want to risk losing the grant.

"To build the Old Botany greenhouse would cost $750 a square foot," Slawecki said.

"A typical greenhouse only costs about $15 a square foot."

The Living Machine, which recycles wastewater, must be housed in a greenhouse in this climate, but the university prefers to build a cheaper one that better meets the needs of the Center for Sustainability.

University officials called off the class gift earlier this year when it was discovered that expenses had been estimated incorrectly and that the Class of 2000 had not raised enough money to cover the costs of the project.

"It doesn't seem to be a realistic possibility from a financial standpoint," said Mike Bezilla, spokesperson from the office of university development.

Members of the office of development have said that they are still exploring options, but they have come to no concrete decisions yet.

The university plans to seek input from the Class of 2000 before deciding what to do with the funds, said Bezilla.

The university has not yet officially informed members of the class about the problem.

Bezilla said he understood that some students might be unhappy with the change, but that students could not obtain refunds on their gifts to the school.

"There is no mechanism to refund gifts,' said Bezilla. "We can cancel pledges, but not gifts."

He went on to say that the Class of 2000 has no outstanding pledges.

This means that all of the students who said that they would donate money have done so.

"Class gifts date back to 1904 consecutively, and there's never been a request for a refund," said Bezilla. "It would set an awkward precedent."