At its meeting on Friday in Washington, D.C., Penn State's Board of Trustees approved a 6.8 percent increase in room and board rates for the 2002-03 academic year. Due to the decision, all campus housing -- from supplemental rooms to graduate apartments -- will experience some kind of increase.

Not only does this decision come in the midst of bad economic times, but it is also the second proposed increase students are being forced to deal with in one year. Because of state budget cuts, tuition could rise as much as 10 percent for the 2002-03 academic year.

With the additional money, Housing and Food Services plans to fund safety improvements, and one of these improvements involves installing sprinklers in the dorms.

Aside from these necessary safety improvements, Housing and Food Services proposed future projects that would improve housing and food service on campus. These include allotting more money to the Office of Residence Life as well as possibly renovating, expanding, and combining dining commons areas.

According to Tom Gibson, assistant vice-president of auxiliary and business services, 85 percent of Penn State's housing and food service facilities were built prior to 1970.

While we appreciate the fact that the administration is looking to improve these areas, we have to wonder if, in these harsh economic times, spending money on these kinds of changes is necessary.

Because of state budget cuts, Penn State administrators are now forced to cut costs dramatically. Making small adjustments to food service on campus does not show evidence that the university is tightening its belt.

We hope that the extra money that students must now pay for housing and food goes towards improvements that are absolutely necessary, such as sprinkler systems, and not superfluous changes.