The current economic climate has taken its toll on businesses and families alike, and many among us have become all too familiar with the general atmosphere of saving rather than spending. It seems that everywhere we look, companies are cutting salaries and laying off workers. At home, many are choosing to forgo luxuries and buy generics rather than name brands to protect their savings. With such an air of austerity, it is not surprising that universities have also fallen on hard times and considered taking active measures to balance their budgets.Here at Brandeis, as most of you know, we have already experienced this. Controversially, a few years ago, the University attempted to sell donated artwork to deal with budget issues. Last year, some academic programs were forced to consolidate for the same reason. As a result, I am not particularly surprised to see that other schools are adopting measures to help keep their finances afloat, but the methods that have been proposed have been quite unique, to say the least.

Among the multitude of universities with budgetary issues are the Pennsylvania state colleges. At a meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Councils of Trustees, freshman Governor Tom Corbett advised that the state colleges should drill for oil on their campuses. He argues that since the six of the state college campuses lie on a shale formation that is currently being used for natural gas, they may as well utilize it. At first, like many of you, I thought that this idea was nothing short of preposterous-imagine having a drilling facility on the Great Lawn or an oil rig in Massell Pond! Even disregarding the environmentalist groups on campus, it is obvious that the majority of the student body and faculty would balk at such a prospect.

After some real consideration, however, I have since changed my mind. Such seemingly extreme measures can offer some rare opportunities for students and valuable lessons for society as a whole. Imagine being a mechanical engineering major at a campus that is actively drilling for oil. You would be able to work with and learn about heavy machinery on campus, all the while keeping tuition costs from rising for your peers. There would also be a constant need to minimize the ecological effects of such an operation, as the prospect of having grassy quads replaced with oil fields is quite the motivator to keep campus oil drilling environmentally conscious with plenty of fail-safe mechanisms.

The real beauty of this idea is not the fact that people will be drilling for oil on campuses. That is in no way beautiful in an age in which we are pursuing alternative energy sources. Rather, it represents a new kind of campus sustainability. The idea that college campuses could have the ability to generate their own income outside of sporting events is a much-needed levee to combat ever-rising tuition prices.

Obviously, colleges cannot turn into giant lumber yards, factories or mines of some sort, and the proposition in Pennsylvania is undoubtedly an extreme case. While most campuses do not sit over oil, many do have a plethora of untapped resources.

Universities in Florida and southern California could set up citrus groves on their campuses. They would be aesthetically pleasing and would reduce the amount of money spent on fresh fruit for dining services. Any surplus oranges or grapefruits could be sold locally. The overhead cost of such an effort could be easily mitigated with the help of student volunteers or even a lab requirement for agricultural science students. Campuses with an abundance of maple trees might consider making syrup. The creative solutions are vast. Even if financially challenged universities are not actively creating a product and selling it, they should be taking new measures to cut costs.

Fortunately, Brandeis is moving in this direction. Solar panels, like those on the roof of The Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, are a common and easy way to cut energy bills and ought to be used more widely. Schools near the shore or other windy regions should construct wind farms to harness the energy that flows through their campuses constantly.

While all of these things would represent some very costly investments, they have the potential to keep the price of running a college campus manageable. As America's higher education system evolves into a state in which admission rates shrink while tuition rises, it becomes increasingly obvious that a new approach is necessary. As lamentable as it may be, it seems that colleges will have to start acting even more like businesses to alleviate these strains. Before we scream in protest, though, we would be wise to remember how much we value having a higher education. Some sacrifices will be necessary to preserve it.