Big surprise. Tuition at AU and colleges across the United States will rise faster than inflation ... again. Next year, our $31,816 tuition will increase 6 percent to approximately $34,000. Nationally, tuition will only increase an average of 2.4 percent. We can only hope that the extra $2,000 each student will owe goes to something worthwhile.
Exorbitant tuition costs are part of college, and this most recent increase won't surprise anyone. That doesn't make it right; it just makes it normal. The reasons behind the tuition increases are complex that cannot be fully understood by, well, anyone. As a result, it is difficult to say definitely that this increase is wrong or right, useful or useless. Nevertheless, the financial burden on students will get heavier and inevitably push many of us deeper into debt.
There are still many ways for this university and American society to lessen the burden on students. At the Tavern one slice of pizza costs $2.40. At the Eagle's Nest a box of crackers costs $6.50. These prices are generally more expensive than they would be off campus and are being sold to people with less money to spend. With the ridiculous amount of money we are all paying in tuition, not to mention the money spent on room and board, why can't things bought on campus be, at the very least, as cheap as things off campus.
Student benefits should be expanded further than just on campus. Many so-called "student discounts" only give a few dollars - or even a few cents - off. The Newseum costs $20 for adults, $18 for students. Tickets to get into Mount Vernon cost a flat $13 and there is no student discount. These prices are prohibitively high and keep students from exploring interesting, entertaining and informative places in D.C. As students with limited discretionary funding, people shouldn't be trying to juice us for all we're worth. Instead, they should work on making essential items cheaper and educational opportunities more accessible.
American University should do its part to make our lives easier and cheaper. Subsidize the food prices at The Eagle's Nest to bring them down to reasonable levels. And while we approve of Bon Appetit's environmentally friendly policies, it may make sense to shift to a cheaper food provider. Everyone in this country is going to have to tighten their belts for the next few years. As students already strung out to the limit, we are going to need the university's help.
