Samuel Studer
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Many students use tricks such as eating less in order to eliminate college debt. After all, less food means less money. But the University of Tennessee will now charge a $300 per semester dinning fee, specifically for students that choose to opt out of campus meal plans.

This charge has been applied to 12,000 undergraduates who do not purchase meal plans, according to the New York Times. These charges will help the university purchase a $177 million student center aimed at elevating Tennessee’s status to a top public university.

Tennessee’s contract with dining vendor Aramark is yet other example of how it tries to make money off its students. These contracts pay big bucks in order to get on campus. They offer signing bonuses and commissions for on campus improvements. Some colleges get sweeter deals. Contracts have offered renovations to the president’s house, closed parties, and free meals for coaches.

These deals seem to brush against the line of corruption and add to the growing cost of education. It can be argued that the costs of these deals are added to the plans, but students ultimately pay the cost. There has been backlash from students because many feel they should not have to borrow more money in order to pay for food they aren’t even eating. Last year, the New Jersey Legislature imposed a ban on mandatory meal plans, even though it was not approved by the Senate. In 2011, students in Alabama tried to sue universities that required meal plans.

Yet the idea of extorting more money from students has gone viral, and colleges all over the country have started to impose these mandatory meal plans.

The University of Iowa does not require a mandatory meal plan. It does impose fees for things that, I would argue, most students do not use throughout the year, or at least not all of them. For me, these fees include: technology fee ($238.50), activities fee ($36), services fee ($38.50), student union fee ($60), building fee ($61.50), recreation fee ($134.50), arts and cultural events ($12.50), career services fee, and Student Health Service fee ($118.50).

These fees are big revenue streams for food vendors and the university. They can charge fees and have revenue source coming in when other resources are tied up.

When students are looking at schools, the cost of attendance is supposed to be listed. Many schools low-ball numbers or do not have any numbers on their website forcing the student to pay extra charges. These excessive fees stop students from attending the schools they choose with the cost of rising tuition. Universities should be required to have full break down of costs. They also should allow students who do not use certain services to remove specific fees from tuition. Overall, more fairness and flexibility is needed.

Everything adds up so fast when it comes to tuition, fees, book, and general cost of living. Universities should be more understanding of these costs. They should not be concerned with renovations, catered dinners, and freebies. Students have already started to create a voice for themselves to stop these practices. These protests must continue in order to charge the culture that is being created. Next semester, before you pay tuition look at those fees and ask yourself if you’re using them. If not, challenge yourself to get involved so your money does not go to waste.