Festivus for the rest of us

This afternoon, students will have the unique opportunity to voice their views on tuition and fees in a public forum held by the IU board of trustees. While the forum will take place in Indianapolis, students can attend via teleconference at the School of Education in Room 2140. \nIU President Adam Herbert describes the motive for the public tuition forum, "The Board and I are committed to facilitating broader public discussion on matters related to tuition and fees. We want to develop a more transparent process, particularly on issues of such importance to students and parents."\n We are glad for this opportunity and hope a large percentage of students will take advantage of it. We feel the forum has great potential for success and hope discussion will include three main points: suggestions regarding the abundance of fees, an elaboration on what it costs to "maintain the quality of an IU education" and proposals to ensure underprivileged students can continue to attend IU. \n Fee increases have outpaced tuition in recent years. Students have continually voiced complaints about the need for the number of hodgepodge charges they are forced to pay. This academic year has already witnessed proposals for a new athletic fee, bus fee, laundry fee and newspaper fee. The board needs to justify current fees and address where fees levels will be in the future.\nWe would also like the board to elaborate on what exactly is needed to "maintain the quality of an education at IU." It seems every time tuition is brought up, IU spokespeople makes reference to this ambiguous concept as the reason to raise tuition. How does the board determine the quality level of the University? At what funding level would each student's investment in education be jeopardized due to a lack of tuition revenue? Where does the board see the quality of an IU education compared with other schools?\nAdditionally, the board needs to address how tuition and fees will continue to be affordable for lower-income students. IU will lose its public school spirit if we are unable to find ways for all qualified students to attend. It would be a great tragedy if an institution created to level the playing field became a bastion for only affluent students. Scholarships are not the only answer -- more discussion and clarification is needed on this issue. \nTo date, President Herbert's administration has set admirable trends in its efforts to keep communication open and include student opinions in important issues. We encourage students to attend the forum today and voice their concerns so these trends continue.