Institutions of higher learning are investing heavily in new facilities-student unions, dining facilities, residence halls, and the like-that address the non-academic side of campus life. They rarely serve just one purpose; more often than not, they offer a variety of physical spaces where students can eat, socialize, network, study, and relax. This is partly due to the need for cost effectiveness, but it's also driven by a desire to integrate the academic with the social, a holistic approach that has been gaining favor with academicians in recent years. But how much is too much? Have universities gone overboard in providing deluxe facilities? Or is it the case that colleges and universities are merely providing students-and their tuition-paying parents-what they have come to expect?
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