Just like contestants on the popular television show "Extreme Makeover," Snyder-Phillips Hall will receive its own facelift in 2005.

While re-guts, nips and tucks for residence halls are an important part of making them more attractive to prospective students, MSU officials should remember that in the midst of a budget crisis, fiscal responsibility is extremely important when renovating.

We don't need another Shaw Hall equipped with whirlpools and state-of-the-art dorm furniture. The whirlpools don't get used because, well, Shaw has community bathrooms - enough said. The basics such as plumbing, new electrical and heating facilities and up-to-date bathrooms, however, need to be made in order to stay up to code and to attract future students to the dorm.

There is no doubt the facilities are badly in need of a renovation, which will begin in May of 2005 and last for 18 months. With students complaining that the halls are too cold in the winter and that bathroom drains don't drain, current plans would quiet critics and open up more space for residents.

With the sign-up dates for on-campus living quickly approaching, many students are deciding whether or not to "live on" next year. Updates such as the one proposed for Snyder-Phillips would attract more students to the halls and would earn MSU more revenue. Hey, it might even help keep tuition down.

On-campus living is an important part of the college experience, and if more students are attracted to off-campus apartments or houses, all students lose out. Though renovations are important to make halls more welcoming for students, campus officials need to remember that current students will not welcome another tuition increase to compensate for over-indulgent spending.