Walking around campus has probably brought shock to the faces of sophomores, juniors, seniors, and even alumni. It’s not the rising amount of students, but buildings like Social Sciences on the north side of campus that brings faces of awe. That gray textured building – commonly referred to as the “space ship” building for its strange, no purpose, round-shaped front – is raw cement and hasn’t been painted since it was built in 1999. “President Brogan jogs around campus every morning at 5 a.m. and takes note of things that need improvement around campus. Revamping the SO building, arena, Breezeway, and areas around the residence halls are a result of his observations,” says FAU president Brogan’s chief of staff Jennifer O’Flannery. “We don’t like to reinvent the wheel, we try to be fragile and work with what we have.” FAU might be working with what they have, but they’re certainly using what they might need in the future: PECO funds. The PECO fund is a state-run investment account which FAU can invest an amount of money untouchable for at least a year. Because of good interest rates, the money invested is sometimes doubled. The total funds in that account are at a peak $900,000, but almost half of that has been spent of beautifying campus in the last three months. After taking a $7 million budget cut, the entire university, in a practical world that makes sense, would be conserving every last penny. Instead, over $500,000 has been spent at one time. O’Flannery says the repairs aren’t out of the ordinary. “We were planning these repairs for the future,” says O’Flannery. “The debates just fast tracked them.” Back to the Debate coverage.