‘Money first, students last.’ That is what the April 1993 issue of The Alternative Orange called the three-day protest over a tuition boost. After an increase nearly twice the rate of inflation, the chancellor and the board of trustees would hear about the rising costs for three days straight.

Fast forward to 2008. I’m a tad troubled. As the search for a new assistant vice president and director of financial aid comes to a close, I wonder what direction the conversation on the ability to afford Syracuse University will take.

Nearly 66 percent of SU’s student body receives some form of financial aid on the basis of need. While our tuition may not fund our school’s needs in full, our endowment is supposed to. According to the Campaign for Syracuse’s homepage, the $1 billion the campaign is asking for should prevent further tuition increase, like the hike that occurred in 1993.

I, too, have flippantly questioned the campaign’s breakdown. In particular, how many more Newhouse buildings will be constructed before I can afford the 40 thousand plus it costs to be educated within its corridors?

But there is a bigger picture to consider, a bigger issue around which we, the students, must mobilize.

The ’93 mantra of SU students to Chancellor Shaw must extend to the present day state and federal governments. While we dish out more money each year due to inflation, state and federal aid fail to ebb and flow with the rising costs of higher education.

Meanwhile, on the admissions floor, those with merit must fight with those in need over limited funds that institutions are increasingly left to find on their own. In the meantime, we who barely ‘disqualify’ for need and ‘disqualify’ for merit slip through the cracks. Four years may transform into five or six and if not here, somewhere else for sure.

I know the next assistant vice president and director of financial aid can’t fix this with a wave of his magic wand, so I’m ready to hold accountable all the people who can.

Published on January 30, 2008 at 12:00 pm