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Volume 52, Issue 125 | wednesday, May 2, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
College students explore strains of cost Saint Mary’s community reflects on struggles of keeping up with rising tuition, fees By Jordan Cockrum and Gina Twardosz Saint Mary’s Editor and News Writer
Editor’s note: This is the final part in a series exploring the experiences of low socioeconomic students at Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s. The financial burden of a private school education is something students often spend many hours thinking about, and the students at Saint Mary’s are no different. Therese Pingel said she eagerly began her first year at Saint Mary’s in the fall of 2016, ready to take advantage of all the opportunities the College afforded. However, she soon came to realize how expensive it is to be a Belle. “I liked the idea of the Saint Mary’s community,” she said.
“I loved the idea of a womenfocused education, so that was the main draw for Saint Mary’s. But I think I just started to feel like the amount of money that I was paying and the sacrifices my family was making didn’t balance out. I didn’t really feel like I was getting this deeper sense of fulfillment out of the Saint Mary’s experience.” Pingel, who transferred to Indiana University South Bend (IUSB) in 2017, said she initially did not realize how much of a financial investment Saint Mary’s was until the bills began piling up and she had to take out a $5,000 loan just to support herself at the College. “Growing up in South Bend, a lot of people aren’t really aware of how expensive Saint Mary’s is because the idea is that Saint Mary’s is the poor
woman’s Notre Dame,” she said. “People don’t really think about Saint Mary’s as a financial investment like they do Notre Dame.” Saint Mary’s Associate Dean of Advising Susan Vanek said the College works hard to find solutions for students who are financially struggling to finish their degree. “At the College and in Academic Affairs, we are aware and sensitive to the needs of students who face financial challenges and do what we can to find solutions to help students finish their degree at Saint Mary’s,” she said. Madison Sparks, a Saint Mary’s sophomore, said she will also be transferring to IUSB next year because the tuition is rising so exponentially that she and her family can
Committee makes licensing proposals By MEGAN VALLEY and KELLI SMITH Senior News Writer and Associate News Editor
The Worker Participation Committee (WPC) presented its new recommendations regarding the manufacturing of Notre Dame licensed products in other countries during
a panel discussion in Geddes Hall on Tuesday. The presentation was primarily conducted by University Executive Vice President John Affleck-Graves and doctoral student in moral theology Craig Iffland. Both panelists outlined five points summarizing the WPC’s recommendations.
hardly keep up. “My stepdad works at Notre Dame, so we get their tuition remission, and that’s the only way I can afford to be here, actually, because they’re covering all of my tuition,” she said. “And they, [associate dean for advising Susan] Vanek especially, told me that it was impossible for me to finish my degree before that money ran out because I only have three semesters left.” Vanek said Academic Affairs “has no control over and cannot change policies” for students in tuition remission programs, which grant monetary assistance based on eligibility factors outside of financial need. “If a student says that she only has three semesters of tuition remission remaining and
if her major requirements are sequenced such that she cannot finish within three semesters, I have to be honest with her so she has time to make an informed decision and, when possible, I suggest other majors she could finish within the time limitation of her tuition remission,” Vanek said. Saint Mary’s offers an encouraging amount of aid to students for their freshman year, Pingel said, but that money soon begins to disappear as the years wear on. “Saint Mary’s kind of has this reputation going that they’ll give you money your freshman year, then they’ll pull the rug right out from under you and all of a sudden you don’t have as much money as see COST PAGE 3
Veterans adjust to university life
“The core issue that the committee grappled with was the concept of can the University be a force for good on the inner factories in causing change at the worker level and influence and bring broader leverage to that by having others with us in the see WPC PAGE 3 Photo courtesy of Charlotte Pekoske
Contraception advocacy group petitions Jenkins By TOM NAATZ Associate News Editor
Irish 4 Reproductive Health (I4RH), an on-campus group at Notre Dame advocating for accessibility to all forms of FDA-approved contraception, submitted a petition Monday to University President Fr. John Jenkins asking for clarification on several points related to
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recent University policy changes regarding contraception. Sophomore Anne Jarrett, a member of I4RH, said in an email the petition was created with the hope of addressing ambiguous portions of the University’s policies. The petition calls for an end to the ambiguity concerning the several changes to the University’s policy on health
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care which relates to birth control, IVF and contraception,” she said. “We believe students deserve to know exactly what the health insurance policy they pay for will cover in advance, instead of being kept in the dark.” The petition itself asked for clarity on five points — the see PETITION PAGE 4
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The ND MBA Military Veterans Club, pictured, helps veterans transition smoothly into business school and ensure their success. By NATALIE WEBER News Editor
Senior Timothy Hopkins always knew he wanted to join the military. This wasn’t his only childhood dream, however — he had also wanted to attend Notre Dame. Yet, coming out of high school, he said this goal was out of reach. “For me personally, in high school, I was going to summer school,” he said. “Notre Dame was always a dream of mine but it was never something I could have materialized. Academics weren’t a
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priority.” Instead, Hopkins said he planned to enlist in the military and used this as an excuse to ignore his studies. From 2010 to 2014, he served in the Army and was assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment. During this time, he deployed to Afghanistan a total of four times. “Our primary mission was we targeted high-value targets, so everything was a kill or capture and it was a night raid, so we would actually sleep all day and then see VETERANS PAGE 4
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