[1623] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
[Mit-talk] Re: Mandatory T passes?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Amanda V Wozniak)
Fri Oct 21 16:29:24 2005
To: "TIM@MIT" <supertim@mit.edu>
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 21 Oct 2005 13:06:50 EDT."
<4359202A.8070607@mit.edu>
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 13:27:45 -0400
From: Amanda V Wozniak <awozniak@mit.edu>
cc: ec-discuss@mit.edu
cc: mit-talk@mit.edu
Errors-To: mit-talk-bounces@mit.edu
> I can see where a few people might get upset about having to pay an
> extra $10/month, but when you're already paying upwards of $43K...what's
> another hundred?
Along with the "Student Life" fee, meal plan costs (select dorms only),
and the (optional) phone plan and supplemental health insurance, it's
yet another instance of a mandatory or near-mandatory fee that doesn't
fall under general tuition. It is an amazingly affordable deal for anyone
who uses the T and not too terrible a loss for those who don't T at
least once a week. However, it's another crack in the dike... what's
next? An affordable $15/month fee for hardwire ethernet in dorm rooms
(with the option of using the wireless network for free)? For students
on scholarship or financial aid (including graduate students on stipends)
every additional fee has to come out of their personal funds and isn't
typically accounted for in the "financial need" column. When you're working
part-time for MIT Libraries to afford your books, those fees add up.
Why not re-allocate part of the Student Life fund to serve this purpose
rather than adding on an additional mandatory participation tax? Or at
the least, keep it elective like the current subsidized T-pass program,
although the motiviation behind making it mandatory is likely to ensure
that some minimum amount of funds go toward sustaining the program at
$10/per pass.
--woz
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