A live tiger for Mizzou? I can think of better ways to spend $2 million

Tim Noce, the president of the Missouri Students Association is pushing to have a live tiger at Faurot Field for Mizzou football games.  According to Noce, a real tiger - as opposed to Truman - would "increase school spirit and draw attention to Missouri athletics."  The cost . . . ONLY two million dollars.  (Link to                                                                                  story here.)

Thankfully, Noce is looking for private donations and not tax dollars to pay for this idea but still, in the midst of a pretty big recession, two million dollars is a lot of money.

I would respectfully request that if this young man can attract two million dollars in donations, he ought to be doing it for a cause more worthy of the money than a new school pet.

Here are just a few such causes . . . 

starting scholarships for kids who want to get an education at Mizzou but can no longer afford it because of the recession,

donating to the American Red Cross's Haiti Relief and Development fund, or 

purchasing 200,000 mosquito nets to fight malaria, one of the largest killers of children in Africa, through Nothing But Nets.

Wouldn't you rather support a good cause, save a life, combat poverty, or provide an education to someone in need than look at an animal at a football game?  Rah, rah!

Here's hoping Mizzou gets its priorities in line.