One of the first issues that comes
to mind for me is college tuition. The issue that I and many other students
have around campus is that we are left in the dark when it comes to certain
fees. Other than the set standard rate we are required to pay, in order to complete registration, we are also required to pay fees such as the building use fee,
academic excellence fee, and technology fee. The issue is that we are required
to pay all of these fees with in the two weeks LSU allows and we don't know
exactly what we are paying for.
In order to stage a protest and get
people involved I would first start a Facebook group. I would invite students
to the group and explain my view and get feedback from other students on the
issue. Once the issue has gained ground we would stage an actual protest. One
idea that I have is that when the clock tower begins playing the toast song at
noon all the students on campus get up and leave their classes or wherever they
are. We would all then meet in the quad and march to the chancellor’s office to make our
presence and purpose known.
After the protest we would also
have hopefully gotten student government on our side. We would then either send them or
our own representative to meet with the Board for the University. We would
explain that we simply want a dollar for dollar break down and explanation for
our fees and why certain fees increase. For example our tech fee increased yet
the University has closed two of our main computer labs which has had a major
negative effect on student productivity. We would know our protest was
successful once we begin to see the explanation given and our accounts taking
into consideration.
This is a very interesting topic of discussion. For example, I was told that I was coming to graduate school with an assistantship and a tuition waiver, essentially that I would get paid to come to school. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I was actually responsible for the very expensive cost of student fees. Panic ensued.
ReplyDeleteThere should 100% be communication about cost changes and what pays for what. They could schedule forums explaining why they are doing the things that they are doing. The cost of college is high, so we should know where our money is going and how it is being spent.
I love the idea of everyone walking out at one time. I mean, we're not technically doing anything wrong. We ARE allowed in the quad. Also, seeing that many people will remind administration that they are vastly outnumbered.
I went to a university for my undergraduate degree that had 3000 people. LSU has ten times that number in students, so I can understand why if a few people voice concern, it may not seem like it needs to be immediately addressed. Having that many people would show them that they must go forward with immediate action.
I really love your idea of using the clock tower. It makes an incredible statement to have the entire student body walking out to the sound of the Alma Mater playing. I think that it would certainly impact the leaders on campus. It also seems like the sort of thing that most people would support whether they were students or not.
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