As parents prepare to dig a little deeper to pay for the upcoming fall tuition bill, the time has come for the university to seriously begin seeking out new sources of revenue to limit future tuition increases at University Park to around the annual inflation rate.

I propose that the university begin marketing the most under-utilized asset on campus for the purpose of outdoor concerts and professional sporting events -- Beaver Stadium.

In 1983, the Undergraduate Student Government proposed this very idea; however, it was strongly opposed and rejected by Coach Joe Paterno due to concerns over turf damage. Fast forward now to the present. The stadium at Ohio State has been the host of such mega-acts as the Rolling Stones, U2, Pink Floyd and George Straight just to name a few. Their university uses a new state-of-the-art technology called Terraplas, which is an interlocking tile system designed to prevent turf damage.

With aggressive marketing, there is absolutely no reason why Beaver Stadium cannot be transformed into a cash-generating machine. All profits could be equally divided between the university's general operating fund and athletic scholarships to student athletes.

If President Graham Spanier and his administration are truly sincere about providing an affordable education, then they must change their strategic thinking and start to become more self-reliant. Opening up Beaver Stadium would be a good first step in that direction.