COLLEGES NEED TO LOWER TUITION TO GIVE STUDENTS A CHANCE
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s the 20212022 school year comes to a close, many seniors are choosing where they will further their education or have already committed. Because of inflation and MADELINE different economic BARKER difficulties like the crash of the 2008 market, colleges and universities have raised their prices exponentially, excluding prospective students on the way. Recently, many news outlets have been reporting on the loans that college students have to take out in order to earn a degree. Unfortunately, students often have to take out loans that range from $27,000 to as high as $300,000, with interest. Many of these students worked extra hard in high school in order to secure acceptance into these pres-
tigious universities, whether it be by taking advanced, honors or AP classes; participating in several extracurriculars at a time; completing up to hundreds of hours of community service or having leadership roles within their schools. In many cases, these high performing students have had to sacrifice things like spending quality time with friends and family, but when it comes time to commit to a school all of this extra work goes to waste because they have to weigh their financial options. Option 1 is to take out an unsettling amount of student loans, with rates ranging from 1.04%-11.99%. The second option is to give up on their dreams and choose the cheapest possible option, which may result in apathy regarding grades/classes/ programs and less possible networking opportunities in the desired field, etc. Many students are not thinking about the financial aspect of college, but rather meeting the criteria to
be admitted. No kid from age 14-18 knows the extent to which high college costs will affect their lives. Many Democratic politicians, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, have argued for free education from public schools. Many Republican states, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Indiana and Iowa, currently have programs that make public education cheaper for students from their states through various methods like tuition freeze, accepting mostly in-state students, and offering special grants for instate residents. On both sides, politicians have argued that it is unethical to take advantage of students, many of which are minors. If this is such a bipartisan issue, why has nothing been done to remedy the issue through legislation to lower the price of college and reform the federal and private financial aid system?
DURST LEAVES A LEGACY THAT ALL STUDENTS WILL MISS
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fter working at the high school for 17 years, Principal Matt Durst made the decision this year to resign as principal and pursue a career in the business field. DANIELLE In this career path, VARRASSO he will be joining a family business and will get to work alongside his brothers and dad. From my freshman year through my senior year, Durst has led the school with respect for all the teachers and students, which is very appreciated though we may not show it. When his resignation was announced, students were upset about the news and sad to see someone who has brought a very positive aspect leave the school. A significant part of Durst’s time at Granville involved the impact of Covid-19 in 2020, which affected the entire school and created many obstacles. This is a situation in which
no one truly knows the right answer, and it is hard to make everyone happy. It was a really hard time as students were lost and did not get the fun privileges they were looking forward to. Durst understood this and kept a positive attitude, even through the hardest challenges. He spent a lot of time trying to find the best way to give the kids a graduation, though it was not ideal he did everything. After two Covid years, our senior year was up in the air and we wondered if we would be getting a more normal school year. Durst has done everything he can to make sure that we are given all the normal perks of high school. He encouraged student sections, worked hard to allow us to have a Homecoming through restrictions and helped end the school year with a big Prom and graduation. I specifically remember this year when Durst called me in to discuss matters of the student section after the first game of the season. He began speaking with the utmost excitement and joy about the turnout of the student section at the first game.
It was so nice to see that he was just as excited as the kids that we were to be able to all come together and show school spirit like we used to. He made sure to explain just how thankful he was that the students were having fun. We will most miss his willingness to listen to students, get their feedback and ultimately make solutions. When students came to him with questions concerning senior privileges, Ace Day, school dances, etc., Durst listened and responded. He directly spoke with a lot of seniors about changes and rules. He was continuously meeting with our class president George Turner and student body president Julian Rodgers as they tried to give us the best senior year. Granville was lucky to have a principal who cared for the happiness of all the students and was able to make us feel like our opinions mattered. His positive attitude, excitement towards education and his commitment to student happiness will surely be missed.
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