I received a curious e-mail message today. It was a Faculty Senate report titled “Improving the ISU Experience,” and it was apparently sent to a large number of students. I began to read it primarily out of curiosity. What caught my attention were the recommendations on how to assist students in financing their educations. They recommended that the financial aid system be reviewed so that more funds may be found for the student, the possibility of finding more employment on campus, and expanding the use of co-ops and internships.

I like the suggestion to expand internships and similar programs. In fact, I would suggest that it be taken one step further and have it a required part of many curriculums. What I dislike is that they suggest finding ways of increasing financial aid. What this will likely entail is to increase loans; this is wrong. The university should not be sending its students into the workplace with debts that could run into the tens of thousands.

I have a better idea: find ways to lower tuition. I know it is more easily said than done, but it can be done and has happened at other colleges and universities. The other suggestion of finding on-campus employment for the students is also wrong. I honestly do not think there is a lack of employment. What I do think is that there is a lack of decent wages.

As a student, many get paid one- half to one-sixth of what a person would get paid for a similar job in the commercial market. I have found that many people are not working because they believe it is not worth their time to work for five dollars an hour. They will simply try to make it up over school breaks and the summers, or take a semester off for work, often getting paid $8 to $15 per hour. Campus jobs are simply not competitive. The cost of education is of great concern to the nation, what the authors of this report need to realize is that the old systems of dealing with it are not working any more.

Kurt Sellner

Senior

Electrical Engineering