The Martlet

Last week, two undergraduate students rolled wheelbarrows brimming with loot into the University Centre and paid their tuition in petty change — lots of it.

The stunt was a good photo op, and it sure got some attention. A pile of money is always an eye-catching image. These students were presenting their tuition as not just a scrap of paper, or invisible numbers dancing around in cyberspace, but as a shimmering mountain of currency. Like trolls emerging from a deep, dark mine, they entered the office and plunked down their savings.

But did it accomplish anything?

The students say they are protesting — that they’re angry to be refused the right to pay with a credit card. Camosun allows students to pay with a credit card, why can’t we? Paying with plastic could give students some extra time to come up with the capital, in some cases as long as a month or two. That breathing room, the students believe, is a necessity for debt-ridden, starving students.

But universities have stopped accepting our beloved charge cards because of costly surcharges. Some estimate that paying these surcharges could cost UVic as much as $1 million. (That’s right, as in six zeroes.) That seems like an enormous waste, for no good reason.

Sure, not being allowed to pay with credit is kind of a pain in the ass. But debit, online payment, cheque, cash, money order — aren’t those enough options?

Yeah, maybe your student loan is late. Maybe you didn’t make enough money this summer, or maybe you’re waiting for a paycheque. But do you really want to put thousands of dollars on a credit card, with something like 22 per cent interest being tacked on if you’re late? That’s quite a gamble.

Really, UVic is doing you a favor. Who would you rather be in debt to: the university, or a credit card company?

Maybe UVic shouldn’t have to swallow ridiculous surcharges just so students can enjoy a little more financial flexibility. People seem to think the university has an endless amount of money, but don’t forget UVic suffered its own budget cuts last spring.

Yet students at our campus aren’t the only ones wanting to make use of the charge method. At the time of publication, 2,494 students had joined the Facebook group “Allow U of C Students to Pay Tuition with Credit Cards” out of the University of Calgary. That’s a lot of unhappy students.

“I am so royally disgusted with the university right now,” one student wrote on the group wall. “It’s places like this that make me [sad] to be Canadian.”

Apparently, the right to bare credit cards has created some intense emotions.

The U of C group has organized marches, rallies and formal protests. It kind of makes you nostalgic for the days when people were opposing things like the Iraq War or the invasion of Afghanistan.

Ultimately, it seems like students have lost sight of what’s actually going on here.

Instead of paying for our inept financial planning, UVic is pouring money into the multiple construction projects around campus. Have you seen the new Earth and Ocean Sciences Building at UVic? It looks like a rocket ship. Maybe UVic could even throw a bit more money at a few of the under-funded undergrad programs. Or they could finally build that bronze bunny statue in the Petch Fountain. (Hey, we can dream, right?)

It seems like some people just like to be activists for the sake of kicking up a fit over whatever they feel like. But social change does only come about when those who care take a stand. Kudos to these guys for trying to do something important. Let’s just hope all the other advantageous causes don’t get short-changed.