I am baffled by Student Government and the administration’s surprise at the dismal turnout for the Tuition Town Hall. Kelly Hook “honestly [didn’t] know.” Why wouldn’t students want to “partake in opportunities to provide feedback”? Let’s see…

It’s not like SG and the Administration didn’t just tell the entire student population to screw themselves at last year’s “opportunity” with the Talley Student Center renovation. Who decided that we needed a $744 mandatory health insurance fee this year? And what consultation was there about the $750 “because it’s easier” tuition hike? And why did the administration wait until the end of the workable summer to put it all together and enact it? And other situations like SG’s last minute funding of the Ludacris concert. This leads to a very stretched and disenfranchised student population.

I’m really not surprised by the turnout. The administration and SG can’t seriously expect students to just forget history (this isn’t Texas). Trust was destroyed last year, it takes time to build it back and we’re not off to a good start. The way I see it, the administration and SG are going to do whatever they want at the end of the day, why should I spend my evening being ignored?

Matt Johnson
senior, mechanical engineering