When we as an executive board first heard about the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant being hosted at our University, we decided against giving a collective opinion. We came to the decision of not stating our collective opinion because we felt an editorial with its limitations would not allow us to tell the full story, in terms of the advantages and disadvantages that we anticipated would come from the presence of the pageant on our campus.
Instead, we presented the advantages and disadvantages in two separate pieces appropriately labeled as the pros and cons of hosting Miss Universe on our campus.
Something that was briefly touched upon on the con piece was the question of how the University would pay for the costs associated with the hosting of the pageant.
Now, as we near the final days of our time as the hosting venue of the pageant, the Miami Herald reported on just how much the University would have to go through to complete this task. What was reported was not only the expenses towards hosting the pageant itself, which amounts to an estimated $544,073, but also the sacrifices the University will have to make to gather the money needed for the previously mentioned expenses.
The University has taken a lot of scolding for gambling with the expenses of university projects towards our growth and improvement for the sake of being the hosting venue of a beauty pageant with elaborate roofing and lighting.
We think with reason, as we can’t be certain how any of this will eventually benefit the University, if at all. Money that could have been used towards university projects, like those for the school’s female student athletes, is instead being used for the benefit of the pageant way beyond the originally estimated $70,000 for roof repairs of the U.S Century Bank Arena.
Unfortunately, scolding doesn’t do much at this point, as we are well into the final days of the beauty pageant’s presence on our campus. While it does not change a single thing that has happened throughout this entire ordeal, it can hopefully act as a learning experience for the university’s community. We can only hope that this experience as a whole presents a new perspective for the University representatives on how they should be careful about how they gamble with the future growth and improvement of our institution. Given the backlash it received for being the host of a beauty pageant, which can be troublesome on its own beyond expenses in the sense of appearances and the message being given in a university that recently had to deal with a campus groper, it would only make sense that the community’s consensus is taken into consideration when going forward with significant deals such as this.
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