The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate at its meeting on March 4 passed a resolution (25?1?0) calling for the creation of a committee with the goal to constrain the cost of attending Tufts.
The resolution was submitted by TCU Treasurer Christie Maciejewski, a sophomore, TCU Associate Treasurer ArdArdalan, a junior, and TCU Assistant Treasurer Matt Roy, a freshman.
To address cost issues, the resolution calls for "the administration of the University and the Trustees of Tufts College to create a commission including student representatives as full voting members, specifically tasked with lowering the cost of attending Tufts University."
The committee, in collaboration with the administration, would be tasked with the re?evaluation of tuition and other student?related fees, as well as the establishment of a five?year plan designed to "contain, cap, and cut the cost of attending Tufts University."
"We don't have set solutions, but we know for sure that the problem needs to be dealt with and that the University has not set a priority for cost containment," Ardalan, who is also an assistant op?ed editor for the Daily, said. "We're trying to highlight that as a priority for the administration."
Maciejewski said the high cost of tuition affects virtually the entire student body.
"This is not a cheap education for anyone and is a financial burden to just about every family on campus, and it's important that we start looking into the problem," Maciejewski said. "Maybe there's not a solution that can be made immediately or a solution that's the best, but someone has to start looking at it."
The resolution cites as its basis an expected three?percent increase in the cost of attending Tufts during the 2012?2013 academic year, the steadily rising mandatory health service and activity fees, and the administration's expressed interest in being able to provide admission on a need?blind basis.
The resolution also says that capping costs would reinforce University President Anthony Monaco's recent calls for sustainability, diversity and inclusion as the main goals of the university in the coming years.
"I felt as though there needed to be something to address costs, just like there is something to address diversity and sustainability. I thought that was missing," Ardalan said. "[The resolution] was very straightforward. It didn't try to outsmart or outdo the administration. It was a very matter?of?fact appeal for help from the administration, for them to draw their attention to an issue that we really haven't found a solution for yet."
Maciejewski said yearly tuition hikes should not be the status quo for the university.
"I think the most important thing is that we just start looking at costs and not just assume they can go up every year," Maciejewski said. "When we looked, there seemed to be a pattern, that it seemed to be increasing at a certain rate. I think it's important that people start looking before they just increase the costs."
Senior TCU Senator Ben Richards voted against the resolution because he does not believe the resolution is the right way to address the cost of attending Tufts.
"The wording was intentionally vague, and I feel that the best way for the university to look at lowering costs would require the involvement of a third party that has experience in this field," he said in an email. "I feel that while this resolution was certainly good?natured and has an admirable goal, it doesn't achieve a whole lot."
According to Richards, a clause that did not make it into the final draft of the resolution would have called for the current tuition rate to be frozen for the next five years.
"Again, this would be nice but it's unrealistic and by including such an unrealistic demand and not even discussing its inclusion for that matter, it undermined the entire purpose of the resolution," Richards said.
Ardalan said that the Senate welcomes student input on the matter.
"We encourage any students to submit resolutions or to come talk to senators about submitting resolutions," he said. "We want more input from the student body on how to solve big issues. Ultimately we can't do it ourselves. The only way to address problems like this is to have dialogues about it and make our priorities clear to the administration."
