What happened at the Board of Trustees meeting on Friday is the same thing that happens every year: an increase in room and board rates was approved.
But with students more strapped for cash than usual this year, the increase seems to matter more than in the past.
The board approved a 4.4 percent increase for the 2009-10 academic year, the smallest increase since 1997.
The rate jump is also smaller than those at comparable schools. Room and board rates at Indiana University will increase 5.7 percent, Purdue University 6 percent and Miami University 5.1 percent.
Administrators said the increase in rates is necessary because of extended dining hours, the need for new equipment and rising food costs, as well as an increase in the minimum wage to come in July.
Students who will start the second year of their premium plans in the fall will not see an increase, but everyone else who lives in the residence halls or uses a meal plan will.
All students and faculty are facing tough economic realities now, though, and even the slightest increase in rates hurts.
Now, more than ever, we students want to see our money go to good use.
While Dining is making an effort to extend hours at popular spots and provide more food options, other aspects funded by room and board fees remain lacking.
Some of the newer residence halls, for example, are practically as nice as hotels, but that isn't the case for all the buildings on campus.
When considering the horror stories of LaFollette's bug problems and hallway carpets stained with unknown substances, it's hard to think about having to pay even more for that next year when the building is that much older.
In this struggling economy, even a university faces money problems, so an increase in rates is understandable.
In order for students to truly be OK with the hike, though, they need to see what they are getting for their dough.
If we have to pay more for room and board, then room and board needs to be somehow better than they were in the past.
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