A thrown-off semester and the threat of a recession have kept Adams Hall and the Stevens Building from receiving some well-needed repairs.

In 2007, the Northern Star covered repairs needed on campus. The Star wrote an open letter to Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

He responded with a proposal of $19 million to fix the Stevens Building. Illinois’ Congress shot the bill down.

Since then, nothing has been done.

Illinois is facing some of the same battles as the rest of the country.

The sub-prime mortgage crisis still has its effects and oil prices and unemployment rates are on the rise.

The combination of these factors creates uncertainty for our future.

As a college student, I would like to graduate, get a job, drive a car and own a house within the next five (or 10) years.

NIU is lying in the wake of a shooting in addition to what the entire nation is also feeling.

“Right after the government proposed to replace Cole [Hall], we’ve got all these other things that it would be useful to spend the money on, but with the state being so stingy, the university doesn’t want to look like it’s being ungracious when somebody offers something,” said Stephen Karlson, an economics associate professor.

Because NIU is currently down a building, I think it is necessary to keep the repairs to the Stevens Building and Adams Hall on the front burner.

How much longer do we want to let these two buildings fall by the wayside?

When talking to students, the repairs needed on campus generally did not seem like an issue a lot of students are following.

NIU is not the only campus with buildings that need serious work.

The Stevens Building is one of the top 10 priorities on the state’s list of education projects, but it is not No. 1.

Even DuSable Hall, from the looks of a ceiling tile removed from the second floor lobby Tuesday, could use some help. The elevators in Grant Towers could potentially hurt someone if they are not fixed.

Pot holes in the roads need fixing. Bridges need fixing.

“If there is a recession, you’ll have less tax revenue, and that’s gonna make it more difficult. Any project has opportunity costs,” Karlson said. “So if you’re fixing Stevens, you might still be choosing to neglect those elevators in the dorms, and those are dangerous, and you might be neglecting to repair the elevators in Zulauf [Hall], and those aren’t quite as dangerous, but someone is going to get hurt in there one of these days.”

Whenever one project is done, another project is ignored.

With the threat of a recession, resources are more tight than they would be if it were not under threat of a recession.

All I’m asking is that priorities be set.