There are many financial aspects of SLU that are frustrating—from the hourly pay on campus, to the distribution of money in athletics, to increasing tuition. I am under the impression that St. Lawrence is broke. St. Lawrence has been increasing their tuition each year and accepting more students than last year. The tuition for this academic year is capped at $78,015 and the cost of attendance is increasing by three percent each year. Why? My question is where is the money going? If SLU is accepting more people for financial purposes, where is that money going? I know students who are paying a range of 10 to 50 grand per year but still live in low-quality dorms and attend classes in low-quality academic buildings. The other day I was walking in Bewkes Hall, and a classroom was strapped with caution tape because of asbestos.
In both Dean and Rebert, there have been mold issues, so where is their money going if not to improve the quality of dorms? Are people getting what they paid for? Where is the money going if not to renovate these buildings? Just saying, it’s also quite ironic that there are athletic facilities like Appleton and Newell that are in top tier condition at the same time as low-quality dorms like Dean and Rebert. Here at SLU, there is a lot of importance on athletics and a lot of money goes towards them, even though more than half of the student population aren’t athletes. Why not distribute that money into other things?
I recently read that there was a two-million-dollar donation to complete yet another athletic facility. I guess that’s what happens when people want their names on buildings.
Another financial aspect that is frustrating is the hourly pay for student workers. I work at the hockey concessions and get paid $10.40 per hour and the high schooler next to me gets paid $14.40 simply because she isn’t enrolled in the school. It looks like SLU purposely pays their student workers less because they’re students! Keep in mind that $10.40 is the highest paying job for students on campus. Other jobs pay the federal minimum wage of St. Lawrence County, which is $14.20, but SLU can get away without doing so because we are a “private institution.”
Tuition is also increasing by three percent each year, and financial aid packages are increasing, but the number of scholarships is not increasing. SLU is purposefully trying to squeeze every dollar they can by increasing the gap between financial award and financial need.
St. Lawrence is increasing tuition each year despite a lot of financial issues I’m not mentioning. It would be justified if we were living in nice dorms with student workers being paid minimum wage and meeting demonstrated financial need. But that isn’t realistic, so what is SLU going to do about it?