I'm afraid to state my opinion on this! I understand how frustrated many faculty, staff and students are by spending on palm trees in the middle of a recession, but I also understand that many physical plant projects come from one capital budget or another, and the funds cannot be transferred to the operating budget.
I am inclined to give the administration the benefit of the doubt...I hope that the money spent on those palm trees came from a capital budget or an environmental grant. If they came from the E&G budget, people should be upset!