College isn’t worth it. Well, not as much as it used to be, at least. Students are being forced to pay for subpar education and poor housing conditions with no more than “I’m sorry for your frustration” from administration–exact quotes I have received from an email concerning the poor conditions I was experiencing. So far this academic year, I have experienced an extraordinary amount of fire alarms, missing window screens, a lack of hot water in the showers, and no AC in the middle of the summer heat. My experience with housing issues is not one I have experienced alone, and complaints similar to mine echo across EMU’s campus. With the poor conditions flooding college campuses everywhere, it begs the question: where’s students money going?
College expenses are 40 times higher than they were in 1963, according to a study by the Education Data Initiative. However, the Pew Research Center’s data shows that only 22% of U.S. adults say that college is worth it even if someone has to take out loans. With tuition prices increasing, and the value of a degree decreasing in many people’s eyes, many folks, myself included, are beginning to question the financial decisions of colleges all across the United States.
Our little college campus here at EMU is no exception to these increasing prices and decreased educational and housing qualities. According to TuitionTracker, EMU’s advertised price for attendance for the 2014-2015 academic year was a little over $40,000. This academic year, it is estimated to reach $62,268. The price of attendance has increased over $20,000 in around 10 years. Who knows what the cost will be given another 10. The world is already a difficult place to survive in, with the limited job market and exorbitant housing prices. There is no way a mother of two, seeking higher education in an attempt to make ends meet more comfortably for her family and live a fulfilling life, will be able to afford such education.
College is a very valuable opportunity. You get out of it what you put into it…or do you? I have found myself more frustrated with the financial choices of faculty here at EMU than I have ever felt. I’ve experienced levels of frustration I didn’t know existed inside of me. Starting with the housing conditions, thankfully I live close enough to where a drive home isn’t too painful. I found myself making that commute quite frequently at the beginning of this semester, when my room was hot enough to melt chocolate and the screenless window was allowing gnats to enter. Moving on to the education aspect, I wanted to be a writing studies major. But I will have to settle for the word “English” on my degree since a variety of majors were cut, or “condensed” as administrators prefer to say, to ease the blow.
Personally, I am paying for school on my own, of course with some financial aid and government assistance. The remaining balance comes out of my own pocket, money I have worked extremely hard for. When I came to Eastern Mennonite University, I had very high expectations. However, my dreams are quickly being starved by the bare pot that is the university’s funds. I survive off the left behind pennies and dead flies that remain in the emptiness. It seems as if my money is being used as firewood, to be burned and wasted, rather than being put towards hiring more professors or paying for a better maintenance company.
I leave you, the reader, with this: if you find conditions are not meeting your expectations, complain. Become the burr that sticks to the administration’s pants. Your money should be put where your mouth is. Resistance works, protesting works. I am not saying being rude or disrespectful is the answer, but being firm and advocating for yourself goes a long way. As my father would say: closed mouths don’t get fed.
