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BHATTA: The University should refund student fees

The University is refusing to refund money for services that will never be provided, so we started a petition

<p>For the 2019-2020 academic year, in-state students paid $2,950 in fees and out-of-state students paid $3,632.</p>

For the 2019-2020 academic year, in-state students paid $2,950 in fees and out-of-state students paid $3,632.

We live in a very tumultuous time as COVID-19 spreads across our country and the globe at a rapid rate. The pandemic is affecting millions of lives and thousands of people are dying. I applaud those who are doing everything they can to save lives and we must all do our part to fight this virus. 

My heart goes out to all those affected by this horrible disease and lost loved ones. Your pain is unimaginable. On top of the immediate physical suffering that many are going through, countless others are suffering due to the financial ramifications. Over 3.3 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits and millions more could see their jobs lost in the months to come. To remedy this, the government will be sending out a one-time payment of $1,200 for individuals, but this will not be enough for the countless unemployed men and women who are struggling to provide food for their families. This will not be enough for the students who have lost their summer internships or jobs after graduation. This will not be enough for the thousands of international students who will not receive a penny of this money and who the government tries to kick out of this country as soon as they graduate. This is the world that we are living in today.

During this time of difficulty, the University that we have all come to love and cherish is silently robbing its students. For the 2019-2020 academic year, in-state students paid $2,950 in fees and out-of-state students paid $3,632. These fees are for services the University will no longer provide — $657 for Athletics, $730 for Student Health, $428 for Recreational Fees, $191 for University Transit and $246 for Newcomb Hall. While some of these services are still available, such as Student Legal Services which is funded by the Student Activity Fee, the University broke this contract to provide many of these services to students. However, the University has not been held to the same standard as other businesses across the United States — they have simply chosen to keep our money. This is our money, and we are entitled to it. These services will not be provided for 8 weeks, or half a semester — therefore, the University should reimburse in-state students $737.50 and out-of-state students $908. Yet, requests for a prorated refund of our fees have been repeatedly ignored. 

Nobody expected our classes to be moved online, and we are all doing our best to adjust. However, this is another broken contract on behalf of the University. We did not pay thousands of dollars for lagging online classes. Rather, we paid for our libraries and buildings, our face-to-face meetings with professors and our favorite CIOs. We paid for our experience at the University — a once in a lifetime experience that would enrich us as human beings. We understand that the University is not able to provide that experience for us right now, and that is okay. However, it is not okay for the University to keep our money just because it wants to. The University, like many colleges around the country, is hiding behind the tragic circumstances. Students are straddled with thousands of dollars of debt, and all for online classes. The University must refund a prorated amount of tuition on top of the fees that it already owes us.

Given that the University has ignored all communication on the issue, we decided to start a petition to demand our fees be refunded. This petition asks the University to refund student fees of $737.50 for in-state students and $908 for out-of-state students. We are coming close to having 1000 signatures in the first 48 hours, but this can only succeed if we come together and take action. Please consider signing and sharing the petition. This idea was first sparked by the initiative another student had taken to start a petition asking for a partial refund of tuition. It asks the University to refund students a portion of the semester’s tuition to adjust for the experience of online classes.

Without the action of students, family and community members united, the University will not listen to us. Our voices are stronger together and we must take action. As such, you should sign each petition in order to tell the University and administration to listen to our wishes.

Param Bhatta is a fourth-year in the College.

The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.

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