As elections for Student Council positions unwind, student leaders have consistently considered specific ways to improve students’ lives. While student financial security over the last year has been imperiled by major, apathetic decisions at the federal level, like cuts to student loan offerings, there exists also a smorgasbord of “smaller” issues at our University. These issues are represented in everyday costs, such as parking fees and laundry charges that, when taken together, are burdensome indeed. Given that these costs are imposed directly by the University, they are far easier to influence than federal decisions. While the University is commendable in its dedication to supporting students through financial aid, support must not end there — the University’s commitment to affordable access should be expanded, in concert with Student Council, to ensure that no student suffers overly burdensome day-to-day costs for important necessities.
The list of these everyday costs is concerningly long — laundry costs $1.75 per washer or dryer cycle, parking on Central Grounds costs $2.50 an hour with exorbitant fees often between $55-$65 for citations and printing costs $0.08 per black-and-white page and $0.25 per colored page, to name just a few. Books, course materials, supplies and equipment alone are estimated by the University to have an annual cost of $1,520. The prices of all these academic and living necessities accumulate quickly and morph into onerous price tags for basic, daily needs that support students living and learning at the University. The expensive daily costs are particularly an issue for low-income students — nearly a quarter of Class of 2028 students receive Pell Grants, and 13.1 percent met the University guideline for low-income.
Struggles to keep up with these everyday items have become even more relevant amidst federal actions that raise the costs of University education. The workforce at the Department of Education has been gutted as part of President Trump’s pernicious priority of eliminating the organization, creating administrative struggles for the Office of Student Financial Aid in processing aid requests. Additionally, the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” created further difficulties around obtaining and paying off student loans throughout a student’s university experience by setting limits on certain types of loans and reimplementing interest accrual on student loans. These legislative and executive decisions not only impede the financial affordability of the University, but also deepen the burden of accumulating necessary costs for students, particularly those who classify as low-income.
The harmful actions of the Trump administration is not the only factor that reinvigorates this moment as one ripe for action, however. Recent University events also create opportunities for improving financial accessibility for these everyday costs. The appointment of University President Scott Beardsley and the election for a new Student Council President create a moment where both students and the University have the opportunity to create a novel and expanded relationship. Recent events support the prospect of a collaborative relationship — both the financial gift promised by President Beardsley to Student Council and the Student Council resolution in favor of maintaining Beardsley indicate a willingness to work together, rather than sow greater seeds of division. This future relationship is critical for efforts to support students struggling with the everyday costs faced at the University.
Further, an expanded relationship between the Student Council President and Beardsley has the capacity to combine the strengths of both institutions. As the main representative of the student body, Student Council and its leaders remain constantly attuned to the financial impediments across the University. This is the very purpose of the self-governing tradition at our University, which has been consistently successful in noticing and representing student sentiments and needs. Indeed, perhaps it is for this reason that they already provide initiatives such as the Textbook Access Office and UVA Mutual Aid to support low-income students struggling with these everyday costs, programs which could be expanded through partnership with the University.
Beyond that, however, once Student Council identifies programs presently creating financial hardship for students, it is the University administration that possesses the greatest financial and organizational power to support the costs of programs dedicated to aiding students. Despite Student Council initiatives, the differences in financial power reveal clear limits on the ability of Student Council to provide assistance — Student Council’s annual budget is less than $275,000, whereas the University and the College at Wise’s allocation for academic operations sits at roughly $2.5 billion. In this way, both organizations possess the strengths to form a relationship truly dedicated to the consistent and broad support of students.
There are times when the financial promises of our University can feel disingenuous, where the claims of true administrative support for affordable access seem fully disconnected from the general experiences of students. At a time when broad student worries envelop a multitude of major issues surrounding tuition accessibility, the safety of international students and the independence of higher education, the greatest support may come from the most targeted of actions. Students are struggling with a myriad of crises — it is unacceptable for the price of clean clothes, important textbooks and accessible parking to be yet another cost to bear. In order to reduce the financial burden on students, it is incumbent on the University to work with Student Council and lower the everyday costs that perniciously accumulate throughout students’ University experience.
The Cavalier Daily Editorial Board is composed of the Executive Editor, the Editor-in-Chief, the two Opinion Editors, the two Senior Associates and an Opinion Columnist. The board can be reached at eb@cavalierdaily.com.
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