I used to be against the Ohio University Student Union.
Here’s why: Most of the people I know in the Ohio University Student Union are Gateway scholars. Kids who are going to school for free, no matter how high tuition rates go. Students who will leave college without a cent of debt. And those who weren’t Gateway scholars were students who still knowingly chose to go to the second-most expensive college in the state.
So for the past three years, I have ignored every invite to every protest, rally, sit-in and whatever else because the Union, in my mind, was a bunch of whiners.
Fresh off of doing research for competitive debates on the costliness of successful Athletics programs, my mindset last spring when they announced a 3.5 percent tuition hike was that of apathy. All I cared about was passing my classes.
When people around me asked me to mobilize because of the hike, I waved them off. At the Board of Trustees meeting last April, the board said that they weren’t taking the hike lightly, and I knew that we needed the hike to foot the bill for our athletic teams to become successful. To anyone with the Union that asked, this was my answer: “We need this hike.”
Then I opened The Post a few days ago, and found my shoe lodged directly in my mouth. Our tuition hike went to line the pockets of an invisible man.
Here’s what I mean by “invisible”: After the news, I walked down the street and ran into a friend of mine. I asked him what he thought of the president getting a raise. He said, verbatim, “It’s about time Obama gets a raise, with all he’s done for this country!”
“No,” I said, “President McDavis.”
To which my friend replied, “Who’s he?”
That’s a good question. Who are you, President McDavis? And what the hell have you done for me lately?
Our university’s president is a man who cannot be seen in the light of day, unless it’s Convocation Day, but even then he’s seen under the artificial lights of The Convo’s stage. To pay a man $415,000 to work one day out of the year seems ridiculous unless he’s Santa Claus. Are you Santa Claus, Mr. McDavis?
If it were someone like soon-to-be Dr. Ryan Lombardi, our new vice president of Student Affairs, getting this kind of raise, I’d be all for it. Our former dean of students is always hanging out with students. I wouldn’t doubt it if he shucks his guaranteed seat behind the end zone to sit with the O-Zone on game days. Dr. Lombardi earns his paycheck.
Instead, we’re paying a man who hides, probably because he knows that we’re pissed at him for taking such a pay raise and sticking us with the tab.
I’m looking at close to $50,000 in debt by the time I graduate. Good to know it’s going to a good cause.
To the Ohio University Student Union: If you’ll still have me, I’m in.
Tom Pinney is a senior studying political science.
