Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 12/7/09 Section: Opinion
Lack of financial aid for on-campus Winter Term courses a problem
During my sophomore and junior years at DePauw I have been accepted to off-campus Winter Term projects only to choose not to attend based on financial aid. The first two were just too expensive even after the financial aid was factored in because my Winter Term financial aid priority rating is 6. The second time I attempted to find the cheapest off-campus course only to discover that the professor purposefully didn't report the full cost to the Durham House so the course could be advertised as the cheapest, leaving a large portion to be paid out-of-pocket.
DePauw advertises the plethora of options for students during their month of January, but what they don't advertise is how hard any of their options are to involve yourself in if you do not have the finances. This year I decided that I would like to take a scheduled on-campus Winter Term course. To my dismay, I discovered that there is no funding for any of these courses. Last year, I ended up doing an independent study Winter Term project and received financial aid for the project. That money went towards my room, board, food, and travel expenses all while living in Greencastle. This year I will incur many of the same expenses. I still need to pay my fraternity to live in their building for an additional month. I still have to buy food so I can eat. I still have to pay the university to take their course, the most expensive of which is an upwards of $500.
Why is there no financial aid for students choosing to stay on campus? It is easy for freshmen to do this since they have already paid to live in the dorms and their monopoly money will last through the month, but this is not the case for many upperclassmen. It is almost too late for change to affect my final Winter Term experience. Hopefully, the university will reconsider their policy and I will be able to spend my time at DePauw instead of my room at home.
Aaron Dicker, senior
Monon T-shirt apology
We would like to apologize to Laura Pearce, professor Eric Edberg, Brandon Monson, and any other members of the DePauw community who were negatively impacted by the recent "Wabash Loves Spud Dick" T-shirts. While we had no intention to offend or target any DePauw students, professors, faculty or staff members, it has come to our attention that these shirts have in fact affected members of the DePauw community. It was never our goal to marginalize LGBTQA community members or promote homophobia on campus.
However, it is clear that these shirts offended a portion of the DePauw community. We understand the severity of our actions and do not attempt to justify them, and we therefore offer our deepest apologies. Using the proceeds from the shirts, we plan to make a donation to United DePauw in support of their mission to promote openness and acceptance of LGBTQA issues at DePauw. Furthermore, please understand that we do not condone the future production and sale of these types of shirts. Rather, we understand the negative impact they can have and encourage students to create fun, non-offensive shirts for future Monon Bell games.
John Bahl and Cole McIlwraith, seniors
Community thanked for their involvement
Recently, music professor Eric Edberg's first-year seminar was given a challenge. Convince non-music majors to attend a classical music concert. The only guideline was that the concert must include classical music. The group of 16 students went through several ideas before settling on the concept Center Stage. The Union Building ballroom was transformed into a café-style concert venue with a stage in the center. The program included the following: a world premiere string quintet, composed by the seminar's own Alex Diaz, a small women's ensemble, a trombone solo, DePauwcappella, classical improv by Jeremy Eberhard and Phillip Blaine, and a percussion ensemble. The concert finished with a drum circle that involved the audience playing percussion. The seminar group is extremely grateful for the support from DePauw students for this event. The energy in the room was positive and affirming.
We would like to thank Humble Pie, a new pizza shop in Greencastle, for the fantastic pizza. We appreciate the performers for providing such a great escape from end of the semester stress. We would like to thank all those who helped with publicity, the promotional video, and hanging posters.
We would especially like to thank Dr. Edberg for being supportive and inspiration. You're wonderful!
Sarah Tibbitts, freshman
During my sophomore and junior years at DePauw I have been accepted to off-campus Winter Term projects only to choose not to attend based on financial aid. The first two were just too expensive even after the financial aid was factored in because my Winter Term financial aid priority rating is 6. The second time I attempted to find the cheapest off-campus course only to discover that the professor purposefully didn't report the full cost to the Durham House so the course could be advertised as the cheapest, leaving a large portion to be paid out-of-pocket.
DePauw advertises the plethora of options for students during their month of January, but what they don't advertise is how hard any of their options are to involve yourself in if you do not have the finances. This year I decided that I would like to take a scheduled on-campus Winter Term course. To my dismay, I discovered that there is no funding for any of these courses. Last year, I ended up doing an independent study Winter Term project and received financial aid for the project. That money went towards my room, board, food, and travel expenses all while living in Greencastle. This year I will incur many of the same expenses. I still need to pay my fraternity to live in their building for an additional month. I still have to buy food so I can eat. I still have to pay the university to take their course, the most expensive of which is an upwards of $500.
Why is there no financial aid for students choosing to stay on campus? It is easy for freshmen to do this since they have already paid to live in the dorms and their monopoly money will last through the month, but this is not the case for many upperclassmen. It is almost too late for change to affect my final Winter Term experience. Hopefully, the university will reconsider their policy and I will be able to spend my time at DePauw instead of my room at home.
Aaron Dicker, senior
Monon T-shirt apology
We would like to apologize to Laura Pearce, professor Eric Edberg, Brandon Monson, and any other members of the DePauw community who were negatively impacted by the recent "Wabash Loves Spud Dick" T-shirts. While we had no intention to offend or target any DePauw students, professors, faculty or staff members, it has come to our attention that these shirts have in fact affected members of the DePauw community. It was never our goal to marginalize LGBTQA community members or promote homophobia on campus.
However, it is clear that these shirts offended a portion of the DePauw community. We understand the severity of our actions and do not attempt to justify them, and we therefore offer our deepest apologies. Using the proceeds from the shirts, we plan to make a donation to United DePauw in support of their mission to promote openness and acceptance of LGBTQA issues at DePauw. Furthermore, please understand that we do not condone the future production and sale of these types of shirts. Rather, we understand the negative impact they can have and encourage students to create fun, non-offensive shirts for future Monon Bell games.
John Bahl and Cole McIlwraith, seniors
Community thanked for their involvement
Recently, music professor Eric Edberg's first-year seminar was given a challenge. Convince non-music majors to attend a classical music concert. The only guideline was that the concert must include classical music. The group of 16 students went through several ideas before settling on the concept Center Stage. The Union Building ballroom was transformed into a café-style concert venue with a stage in the center. The program included the following: a world premiere string quintet, composed by the seminar's own Alex Diaz, a small women's ensemble, a trombone solo, DePauwcappella, classical improv by Jeremy Eberhard and Phillip Blaine, and a percussion ensemble. The concert finished with a drum circle that involved the audience playing percussion. The seminar group is extremely grateful for the support from DePauw students for this event. The energy in the room was positive and affirming.
We would like to thank Humble Pie, a new pizza shop in Greencastle, for the fantastic pizza. We appreciate the performers for providing such a great escape from end of the semester stress. We would like to thank all those who helped with publicity, the promotional video, and hanging posters.
We would especially like to thank Dr. Edberg for being supportive and inspiration. You're wonderful!
Sarah Tibbitts, freshman
Be the first to comment on this story