I am writing in response to The Post’s Monday article, “Student advocacy not included in the job of student trustees.”
Secretary to the Board of Trustees Peter Mather stated that student trustees are representatives of the state, not student advocates. Senior trustee Allison Arnold has stated in an article by The New Political (“Student Trustee Voting Rights Debate Goes On”) that her constituency is broader than just the students at OU.
“My current view is one that takes into account the constituency of students, as well as my other constituents, which are all tax payers of Ohio, as I am governor appointed,” Arnold said in the article (which, full disclosure, I authored).
So considering I am an Ohio taxpayer, as is my mother and the rest of my family, who are all deeply concerned with the rising cost of OU tuition, where is my voice in the matter? When did the trustees represent my and my family’s opinion?
And it’s not just me; 88 percent of OU’s population, according to the Office of Diversity, is Ohio residents. This number is much larger if you include the students’ families, who I’m sure don’t want to continue paying the $10,000-plus tuition bill or don’t want to see their children in debt for the rest of their lives.
As an Ohio taxpayer, I say our tuition prices are ridiculous. And I expect both Ms. Arnold and Ms. Roden to represent that opinion when the BOT votes on the issue this Thursday.
Natalia Radic is a junior studying journalism.
