Auniversity such as San Diego State has a lot of money in its hands – millions of dollars. Any conscious student or community member should hope those millions are spent sensibly.

In light of the tumultuous Paseo project development deal, however, this appears to be the contrary.

Turmoil surrounds the proposed redevelopment project near the school, which has been discussed for nearly 18 years.

Last year, SDSU took over development of the project from the SDSU Foundation – the fundraising auxiliary of the university – and so far, $12 million has been spent. The proposal is a $350 million plan to rebuild 11 acres of land near the trolley station with retail shops, offices, restaurants, a movie theater and student housing.

No one involved seems to agree on how to run the project. Money and time that could’ve benefited other aspects of SDSU have been wasted. Most recently, Tom Carter, a prominent board member from the foundation, resigned, while accusing school officials of financial negligence.

“In my opinion, they’re making bad financial decisions,” Carter told The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The city redevelopment agency wants to ask for proposals from outside organizations, which means SDSU may lose its foothold in the project altogether.

When the SDSU Foundation was in charge of the project, progress was being made. Though retail development isn’t my favorite way of seeing money spent, at least it wasn’t just squandering time and resources. When SDSU took over, however, city officials and community groups pulled support and financial backing. This means roughly $25 million in public redevelopment funds are gone.

This project has become another example of inefficient bureaucracy with no concern for the community. The foundation is now obligated to find a way to recoup its lost investments – money put into planning the project, which may be thrown away unless another developer buys out the plans. Foundation officials are facing decisions to sell some of its $131 million real-estate collection. This includes money-makers like office buildings and Fraternity Row.

SDSU officials, including University President Stephen Weber, said they’re required to oversee the project because of university financing rules. Many involved in the project, however, say university-controlled redevelopment would result in more student housing and less restaurants that might compete with campus-run food services, according to The U-T.

City Councilman Jim Madaffer is one of the more prominent opponents of the SDSU takeover of the project, having called it “seize-and-control mentality.” Groups such as the College Community Project Area Committee have spoken out against SDSU involvement in the project, as well.

Developing the College Area has been an ongoing process. It’s already been improved tremendously – what was once a run-down neighborhood is now revitalized. It makes sense for an area so densely populated with people from other parts of the state or country to have a nice neighborhood.

In a perfect world, I’d like to see money spent on academic programs. But this is how they’re spending our money, so it might as well be done right.

In all this mess, has anyone brought up what’s good for the students? It seems as if we’re the last thing on the minds of not only developers, but our own school officials.

Everyone wants a piece of this pie, but nobody cares how this project will affect the people – primarily students – who will utilize the retail development.

This is my school’s money, and I want to see it spent wisely.

-Gaia Veenis is a journalism senior and is the senior opinion columnist for The Daily Aztec.

-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, major and year in school.