Was it a rhetorical question?
When the administration asked students for their opinion on the upcoming budget this year, it seems they were not looking for an answer.
The Committee on Funding Priorities, which consists of lots of faculty and administrators and just three students with the ability to vote, did not make a recommendation to the Budget Committee this year on a tuition increase amount, according to Provost Ahmed Abdelal.
No recommendation equals no voice. Even with last year’s student recommendation of raising the tuition no more than 2 percent, the administration still didn’t listen and up it went.
And the students of the CFP the administration has appointed aren’t exactly representative of the slice of students you see crossing Krentzman.
Student Government Association Vice Presidents Ali Barlow and Erin McFadzen had voting rights on the committee. Both receive scholarships that cover the tuition of their classes. SGA President Bill Durkin who sat through the meetings, though not able to vote, is also on a full scholarship.
Sure the members the SGA who sit on the committee were able to tell the vice presidents, deans and professors they wanted to keep tuition down for the students. But, hey, it’s about 20 against three.
The administrators promised the raise in tuition was for the benefit of maintaining the current financial aid level. Though this is of little to no comfort to those upperclassmen who will not receive any more financial aid in their set package, Provost Ahmed Abdelal maintains individual students must look at the benefit greater financial aid will have on the student body as a whole.
The Budget Committee should bring students together to talk them through the process before they feel like it is over and done with. Maybe, just maybe, they will bring up something the committee hasn’t thought about. Or maybe they won’t, but they will still feel better about the outcome knowing they were in on the deal.
Opening up at-large seats on the committee next year would also ensure the students are being heard. The administrators might learn something from them as well.
The Budget Committee does throw the students one bone though. They will be holding an open forum Thursday to share with students how much farther into debt they will be falling. Thanks, guys.
They will be there to address the concerns of students, knowing there is little to nothing that can be done other than to say, “Better luck next year.”
Well, hopefully students will have better luck next year. Students should be able to know what is going on, instead of the administration keeping the process behind closed doors.
