Itās great that you all were able to collect all those food goods for students. Itās a shame, and shocking frankly, that we have students attending a University where they donāt have enough food to eat.
Separately, your work, and the messages Iāve received asking for donations, have really got me wondering what we are doing as a university if we have to have a food pantry for students. The same students who are paying $800+ a year for dreadful athletics teams. Figure $4,000 per student over the average five years it takes to get a bachelors degree, then tack on 20 years of interest that most students will have to pay since students that canāt afford food likely are receiving need-based grants and scholarships, but likely also have significant student loans for many.
Our priorities feel so out of line, especially as we continue to dump money into facilities and coaching salaries for programs that canāt generate their own revenue because of complete lack of success. We are sacrificing the futures of our current students and future alumni to prop up a program that canāt get out of its own way.
I donāt know what the answer is, I want sports. Itās one of my connections to the University (though we do support the arts through our presence and support) but every year that goes by it just feels more and more pointless. The whole food pantry thing makes me sick. Kids borrowing now at 5.5% and paying them off over 20 years will end up spending $6600 over their lifetime to pay their athletics fees. Just an absolute embarrassment to saddle kids with that kind of debt who canāt afford food.
Maybe this is just a bit of a rant, but man it feels slimyā¦