The University prides itself on the fact that it is rated one of the most affordable public universities in the country. When the Princeton Review and USA Today rankings were released in January, the University was listed in first place. In response to the rankings, President John T. Casteen III said, “By providing a superior education at a good price and with appropriate sources of financial aid for students from various economic circumstances, we aim to level the playing field for our nation’s young people.”
However, there is more to affordability than tuition costs and room and board fees. Programs provided for students as extracurricular activities, career advancement opportunities, and exercises in class bonding are often prohibitively costly. A student’s experience in the University should be affordable in all respects, including extracurricular activities.
Take the Alumni Association’s “Dress Your Best and Interview for Success” program in which students have the opportunity to hear tips on what constitutes appropriate work attire at Banana Republic this week. Those who register for the program receive a 25 percent discount on everything that they buy in the store that day. “Find that interview outfit (and perhaps one for Foxfield, as well)” reads the announcement advertising the event.
There are two things wrong with this program. First, the fact that it is held in a store well-known for selling high-priced clothing (suit jackets alone can be more than $250) deters a lot of students from attending because they simply can’t afford to spend so much money. Though the event itself is free, students are encouraged to purchase items from an expensive store. Second, the fact that the ad mentions Foxfield implies that it caters to a specific audience, one that can afford to — and that wants to — buy tickets to such an event.
Instead of holding an event that a number of students could potentially benefit from at a prohibitively expensive clothing store, why not hold it at a much more financially accessible location such as a department store? Students who want to spend money on a suit at Banana Republic can still do so, but students who would rather buy something less costly would then have an opportunity to shop somewhere that sells clothing at a variety of different prices.
The Annual Graduation Banquet is another example of a high-cost University-sponsored social activity. The banquet, held in Alumni Hall the Friday before graduation, costs $70 per person. According to the invitation, “The Banquet is the ideal venue for family and friends to enjoy dinner with one another.” Maybe so, but that enjoyment will likely be cut short when you realize it costs $420 for six people to eat dinner there.
Affording college is not only about being able to pay tuition and buy books, although those are two of the most important things to be concerned about. College is about much more, and a student’s experience at the University is undoubtedly affected by the social and extracurricular activities he or she chooses to — or is able to — participate in. Having to miss out on a chance to spend time over dinner with fellow fourth-year students because tickets cost too much, or missing out on a valuable career-building experience because of the price tag on every suit in the store makes a student’s experience here that much less comfortable makes the school feel that much less inviting.
Those at the University who plan activities like those listed above should do more to recognize that the socioeconomic status of students is an important factor in determining the activities they choose or do not choose to participate in during their time at the University. Moreover, the University should accommodate these varying levels of socioeconomic status by subsidizing certain extracurricular activities that warrant students’ participation — activities like career workshops and networking events. Just joining the Alumni Association as a student costs $350.
Fourth Year Trustees President Christina Polenta noted that the Trustees have “attempted to use our budget so that we could provide events to the class that are much less expensive than they would be ordinarily.” This is the right idea — one that the University should work harder to implement in all of its programming.
It is time that socioeconomic status is no longer a factor in determining what activities and events students can or cannot participate in. The student experience at the University should mean more than money.
Amelia Meyer’s column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at a.meyer@cavalierdaily.com.
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