UA’s campus has seen some new improvements since last semester’s budget crisis.

New grass was planted on the UA Mall and two campus fountains have been turned back on.

Al Tarcola, director of facilities management, said the funding for the new grass came out of revenue collected from the various vendors who use the Mall. It did not come out of state funding, he said.

“”They wanted the Mall to look nice for the students and especially the new students that were coming in, so they gave us the money,”” Tarcola said.

Kim Didra, an art sophomore, thinks new grass on the Mall is a good investment for the UA.

“”A lot of people do find the Mall a pretty place to be that attracts money to the university,”” she said. “”It’s a small investment that pays off because it brings more people in.””

In addition to new grass, the fountain in front in the Women’s Plaza of Honor as well as the fountain in front of Old Main have been turned back on.

The Old Main fountain was restored about a month after the spring semester ended, Tarcola said.

“”The Old Main fountain is a signature part of the university and represents a memorial to World War I veterans,”” he said.

Alumni pay for the Women’s Plaza of Honor fountain, he said. 

As reported last semester by the Daily Wildcat, the fountain in the Student Union Memorial Center will only be turned on for Dec. 7, in honor of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona, to which the student union is dedicated.

The Alumni Plaza fountain in front of the Administration building will still only be turned on for Homecoming and graduation.