Walk on campus someday. Not just to class or to the Hill, but really, walk around and take a look at what you see.

Some places on campus are new, fresh and full of possibility. You wonder if you might meet your future husband or wife in the halls of the ATLAS building or walking through the new law school.

Other places seem a little dark, more than a little dank and like a black hole of despair and doubt from generations of bad tests, drunken break-ins and flyer after flyer of broken promises. You wouldn't want to meet your future spouse in these buildings. You especially wouldn't want to meet him or her on the fourth floor of Ketchum.

With a university as old as CU, (which was founded in 1876) this is bound to happen. And TABOR only put the strangle hold on what was already a campus that wasn't exactly aging gracefully.

The men's basketball team can't seem to lure the top-tier recruits because, well, no one can find the basketball offices. They just moved to the Coors Event Center this year, after spending the better part of the program's life in Folsom. I won't even talk about the team's locker room.

A new practice facility is badly needed for a program that Mike Bohn has said will be emphasized during his reign as AD. There just isn't any money for it, because money comes from support from the program. Support is one thing that CU basketball has little of. Just take a look at all the blue around campus tonight when the Buffs take on Kansas.

It's not just the university's teams that are suffering from the problem. Departments are shifted around, buildings stand in disrepair and the administration can't do much about it because of the handcuffs 6 years of recession paired with a questionable fiscal policy will do.

The armory is getting old. Every year, there's talk among the administration of moving the J-School to a different building, but it never happens. Cosmetic fixes to the doors, computer labs and offices only create contrast between the nice areas and the bad ones.

Other buildings that could use a face lift include the Fine Arts building (which could probably use a lighting quick fix), Ketchum (could probably stand to be cleaned more often, too), Hellems (just screams 'demolish me') and the University Theatre (I can't say for sure, but when students are talking about a ghost in the theater, it's probably time for an aesthetic change). The dorms on main campus are pretty hilarious, too. When I was a freshman, I lived in Buckingham (which is not as nice as it sounds). But my heater worked too well; it never shut off.

I'm sure the administration would love to do these things and more for the campus, but there just isn't enough money to do all of that and keep up the rich academic tradition the school currently enjoys.

The Campus Press has reported that Gov. Ritter will include CU in millions of dollars of maintenance projects to be completed. This is good news for a campus that desperately needs it.

What do you think about the state of disrepair on the campus? Is it inevitable that these buildings are going to age faster than the norm because of how many people use them everyday? Or is it just typical of a government that thinks of its university system only as an afterthought? You have a horror story about your dorm, too, I'm sure.

You can post your own story about it, start a blog or leave a comment below.

Events

Here are a few things that you can do on and around campus this weekend to get your mind off of that psych test. Wow, wrap your mind around that one. Get your 'mind' off your 'psych' test.

- Andrei Codrescu, a well-known writer and frequent guest on NPR's All Things Considered, will be on campus to give a lecture titled Lose a Country, Gain a World: Reflections on Exile at 4 p.m. Feb. 16 in the British Studies Room on the fifth floor of Norlin Library. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 303-492-1423.

-The International Film Series will present Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 in Muenzinger E050. The film is "A human story about a socially responsible company, "Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox" documents the complicated family legacy behind the counterculture's favorite cleaning product." Tickets are $7 for the public and $5 for students.

-There will be a Chinese New Year celebration starting at 2 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Glenn Miller Ballroom in the UMC. There will be free traditional Chinese food with professional performers, including famous Chinese Acrobats from the Furamar LLC DBA China Stars Company! The event is free for everyone to attend.

-Moraporvida is proud to showcase an evening of dance simply entitled Porvida at 8 p.m. Feb. 16. In this second appearance at the Dairy (2590 Walnut St.), there will be three pieces of work performed by a cast of international dancers and performers. There will also be music from Tricky, Saul Williams, Bjork, Dub Tribe and Blackalicious. Tickets are $16 for general admission and $14 for students and seniors.

-There will be a screenwriting workshop with John August, writer of Big Fish, Go and Charlie's Angels at noon Feb. 18 at Boulder High School, 1604 Arapahoe Ave. Admission is $25. This is a part of the Boulder International Film Festival, which will be going on this weekend.

News

The Campus Press has a story about the apparent economic trouble the Hill is in.

Also, the Colorado Daily has a story about a white supremacist group that was passing out flyers in Boulder County.

Finally, you might remember on national signing day a week ago when Dan Hawkins about lost his mind when telling everyone what it takes to play CU football. Well, the national press is starting to pick up the story and it's not going to be pretty. Here's what ESPN has to say about it.

Have a nice week. Go play some intramurals for the Hawk's sake.