Kait Christensen | News Co-Editor

Last week President Fred Moore announced to Buena Vista University (BVU) students and community members the increase in tuition prices. Added onto this increase, there was also an increase in costs for living in the suites decided by the BVU Board of Trustees. It was announced that students living in the suites will pay an extra one hundred dollars per semester.

Director of Residence Life and Housing Dijon DeLaPorte discussed that the prices for room and board next year have been set and confirmed there will be an additional one hundred dollars per semester for residents living in the suites.

The increase in the price of living in the suites is due to the high investments that have and will be made on the suites leading into and throughout the summer.

“The university looked at the money that they’ve invested in the suites. After this summer, they will have invested a million dollars in carpeting, painting, doing work on walls, replacing light fixtures, revising all the duct work that you’ve seen in the hallways and in some of the suites, upgrading the air conditioning and cooling units,” DeLaPorte said.

Other factors, such as residents in the suite have their own bathroom and lounge, will also factor into the increase of price.

DeLaPorte pointed out how other universities, both private and public, often have several prices depending on the dorm or residence hall on campus. At Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, there are both air conditioned and other room assignments, where air conditioned rooms cost significantly more a semester. One residence hall costs $135 more per semester, while three others cost $500 per semester. This is also the case at University of Iowa. The differences in these room and board expenses are anywhere from $500 to $1000 more a semester. BVU has been one of few schools that have had an equal cost of living in each residence hall.

Student Senate sent out a survey to students on BVU campus, involving what each building was lacking or had a lot of. It was seen that the suites were lacking a lot more necessities than other residence halls. Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Meg McKeon addressed some actions that will be in place involving the improvement of the suites and pricing.

“We are going to add a kitchen, lounge, and commons space to the suites. That conversation was ongoing while all the budget stuff was going on. I knew that students wanted that so there will be construction over the summer,” McKeon said.

Briscoe Suite One will be converted into an area for students to lounge in the suites. McKeon continued to discuss that this was not going to be an excuse to make up for the price increase, but had been discussed over time.

“It’s also something that ironically a couple of students have asked us about because they were doing class project on it. It was approved yesterday by the President’s Council,” McKeon said. “It is also one of the steps that were also going on while we were looking at all the other things suites have and don’t have.”

Several students have voiced their opinions of this change in room and board for residents of the suites. Many students complain that since it has been seen in the past as an honor to live in the suites because of GPA requirements, that it has turned into a punishment with the extra costs.

Student Senate President and senior Seth Lindokken discussed some of the actions that are taking place in order to communicate how the students feel about this change in pricing.

“Student Senate has taken a few steps in response to the proposed additional fees for suites residents. On Thursday, March 7th, we sent an e-mail out to almost every student on campus informing them of our intent to discuss this issue with the administration. We asked students to respond to the e-mail with their thoughts on why there should or should not be an additional charge to live in the suites,” Lindokken said.

Lindokken also continued on to explain the “walking tour” of the residence halls, which showed the students an Excel spreadsheet comparing what each residence hall had to offer. The results of the “walking tour” were sent out to students on March 8. According to the study, the residence halls were close to being equal in status.

“The study indicated that there wasn’t necessarily one residence hall on campus that stood head and shoulders above the rest in terms of accommodations. The suites performed very well in some categories, but very poorly in others. Similar things could be said about the other residence halls on campus. To be fair, this study can’t hope to perfectly quantify the experience of living in any residence hall, but I feel that it does bring into question the idea that residents of the suites should be made to pay more than other students,” Lindokken said.

Lindokken also discussed the several dozen letters he received from students concerned about the increase in price.

“The overwhelming sentiment is that students oppose these fees, and they have presented a wide variety of arguments in support of their positions,” Lindokken said.

He continued to express the steps that he would like to take in order to show to administration the concern. Lindokken stated that he will combine the main concerns of the students and present them to the administration as well as bring the letters to the meeting.

“Not only have students stepped up to the plate by providing a number of solid arguments, but they also demonstrated that they care enough about this issue to take the time out of their busy schedules to communicate their concerns with members of Student Senate,” Lindokken said. “This feedback has been extremely valuable to us thus far, and we very much appreciate the efforts put forth by the students.”

Sophomore Ian Grigsby wrote a letter to inform his concerns for the increase in prices, along with several other living conditions that will be changed. The letter was posted to Facebook with multiple comments, and over eighty “likes” were received. Grigsby discussed other options that could be used, such as off-campus living, more necessities in the suites, and pointed out other flaws that could be faced.

“Now if this $100 fee is being used as a deterrent for people to get in the suites, this is financial discrimination. We are already paying an arm and a leg to go here…you shouldn’t be discriminating based on money, but upon things that predict better students such as involvement on campus or GPA…,” Grigsby stated in his letter.

Much like Grigsby, there are several other students speaking their feelings about this increase in suite tuition, which will soon be presented by Lindokken to administrative figures associated with the matter. Grigsby signed his letter as a concerned student on BVU campus.

“I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t angered by these changes. However, I am not angered out of hatred, but out of love for my campus. In loving my campus, I therefore must hate what I believe is wrong for it. I speak my own words and stand by them, but I assure you the sentiment is shared throughout the campus. We love Buena Vista. Let us do what is right for it,” Grigsby said.

Graphic by Krystal Schulte