Editorial

As reported in this issue of The Brock Press, the Brock University administration has decided and voted that they will now be charging students a flat tuition fee this upcoming year. What this means for us is that if you take five credits, you have nothing to worry about, however if you're deciding to cut back this year and take only four, you will still be charged as if you are taking five.
This just makes sense to me.
When I go to the store and buy a bottle of water and my friend buys a bottle of water and a bag of chips its only logical to assume that we would pay the same amount. I am getting less and my friend is getting more so why would I pay a lower amount? Come on people, it's basic economics.
I for one enjoy paying for literally nothing and I do mean nothing. I'm a student so I have a lot of excess cash and why should I use it for stuff like food or shelter or something else inconsequential?
Let's look at an example of how well thought out this is and maybe you will change your mind. Say Joe Student has only taken a few credits every year and now this will be his last year and it works out so that he only needs four credits to graduate. Well again, it makes plenty of sense for him to pay for five credits and throw that extra money out the window . well, out the window and into Brock's pockets of course. This example proves that Brock isn't attempting a quick money grab at the expense of only a few students in that position. Don't forget: the individual student doesn't matter. It won't affect the majority of students who take five credits so why not try and take advantage of those who aren't in that majority?
I know that this is probably a somewhat controversial topic however try to remember that this is a university with almost 20,000 people attending it. Brock's gotta eat! It needs to charge students for stuff that students cannot actually benefit from in order to stay afloat in these troubled times. In 2006 Brock University only had 82 members on the Sunshine List that were making over $125,000. It's hard to pay those salaries every year only by charging students on a fair and understandable 1:1 system.
Those small few who may not agree with this flat tuition fee however may want to remember that there are avenues for displaying your disapproval.
The student representatives at BUSU are there for a reason but keep in mind when the new fee was voted on and when the current executives went into power. The current executive was not even around when the Brock board of directors approved this fee in March. However it is still important to expect BUSU to represent you when dealing with these situations and there should be no excuses given for why the students are not represented with their best interests in mind. If you do disagree with this flat tuition fee for some reason tell someone who will make a difference.