Christina Domenico | If I had a million dollars...

It must be nice to be Amy Gutmann.

She has a beautiful home on Walnut Street, constant security, no need to spend money on gas - and the kicker - yearly earnings of $1.15 million. Soon enough, you'll be hearing little girls saying that they want to be like Amy when they grow up.

Since the release of Gutmann's earnings last year, the Penn buzz has been about whether or not a one million-plus salary is appropriate for a university president - or even the best allocation of financial resources on campus.

You can't blame Madame President for the salary she earns. She didn't wake up one day to give herself a raise - the Board of Trustees did. Last week's article in The Daily Pennsylvanian noted that the average increase in compensation for university presidents was 10 percent. Gutmann's raise was 40 percent, well above average and a pretty hefty increase.

President Gutmann certainly deserves a raise, just like any other hard-working employee. But the Trustees' decision to increase her earnings by 40 percent is a tad extreme. After all, the University she represents needs a raise, too.

In three years, I've come to know Penn's homey West Philadelphia campus very well, and there are plenty of places on campus always aching for more funding. Perhaps the Trustees could lend them a hand next year too:

1. Put some new bricks on Locust Walk, please. This past semester, my foot landed on a stone that was sitting on top of the path. It had been completely removed from the gray snake that winds down the Walk. That escaped stone meant there was a gaping hole where another person's foot got caught. Locust Walk is the main thoroughfare through campus as well as a selling point for the University - it should be as impressive from start to finish as Penn is. And void of face plants - everyone prefers daffodils.

2. Improve on-campus wireless accessibility. Penn loves to advertise that we are a wireless campus, yet not all buildings have reliable signals. The ARCH and Williams Hall (among others) have spotty service at best. With better wireless signals throughout campus, there are more places to study to relieve the stress on the ever-popular Van Pelt. Plus, how can you expect students to effectively slack off without a reliable connection to Facebook?

3. Work to further increase financial aid. Due to the current economic downturn, more and more students are in need of financial assistance. Even a small amount can go a long way, and as a leading institute of higher education, it's up to Penn to continue to improve its accessibility. I don't see gas prices going down right now, yet the cost of tuition continues to rise.

4. Help out the academic departments that make Penn a premier institution. Remember the debacle with the Asian American Studies program this year? Penn's role first and foremost is that of a research institution, so it logically follows that all possible funding should go to advancing academic initiatives. Our professors and students can't complete their studies without the necessary financial backing. Any department on campus would happily and easily find ways to put the added money to work.

5. Renovate the oft-forgotten College Houses. We all know that DuBois is in serious need of a facelift, and outside of the Quad and the High Rises, there are at least seven more College Houses that could benefit from a little attention. Sure, Kings Court got a green rooftop last year, but when was the last time the actual rooms had a significant upgrade? Students should face fairly equal residential standards, no matter where they end up. When was the last time you heard someone gleefully proclaim that they will be living in Gregory next year?

This year it was great to be Amy, but maybe next year the Trustees will decide that she can share with the rest of the University. There's plenty to go around.

Christina Domenico is a rising College senior from North Wildwood, N.J. Her e-mail is domenico@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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