COVID-19 is revealing the flaws of American capitalism left and right.
We’re finding out that billionaire CEOs would rather lay employees off than dip into their own pockets to pay salaries.
We’re finding out that landlords and utility companies would rather evict people than freeze their rent and bill payments, even if those people can’t work right now.
And, some college students are finding out that schools would rather sell us an “innovative and creative” online academia and collect full tuition checks than level with us and give back the money we paid for the experience we can’t get.
I’m looking at you, Michael Crow.
In an interview with The Arizona Republic on Wednesday, the Arizona State University president made it abundantly clear that offering refunds for students is last on his list of priorities.
“The funny thing is that somebody declares a national emergency and they're talking about bringing out martial law in California. And then people ask us, are we going to give them a refund? Are you kidding me? I mean, that's what you want to talk to us about is a refund?" Crow said.
Yes, that is what I want to talk to you about.
There are students out there who’ve been laid off from their own jobs, whose parents have been laid off, and who will have to make decisions quickly about what expenses they can pay with the money they have.
The possibility of being relieved of part of that financial burden is of immediate interest to them, President Crow.
Not to mention, a solid portion of the fees students have paid to the school for this semester are now rendered useless.
ASU Housing is sending emails to students “strongly encouraging” them to move out. Why should they keep paying for dorms?
Meal plans and class equipment won’t be used for the second half of the semester. Why should the school get to keep the money paid for them?
The in-person, hands-on courses offered at ASU’s different colleges, like the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, are being dissolved into virtual Zoom meetings. Why should students pay full price for a fundamentally different learning environment?
It’s true, the coronavirus outbreak has put us all in an unprecedented position. But ASU’s mission statement, posted on the Office of the President’s web page, claims that the university is to be measured in part by how it assumes “fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.”
In my own experience as a master’s student at the Cronkite School, I’ve found that the majority of the faculty I deal with directly are doing exactly that.
But Christopher Callahan, Cronkite’s founding dean and the head of the leadership snake, has done a horrible job of listening to one of the communities he’s tasked with serving.
On Monday, members of my master’s cohort joined a Zoom call with Callahan to discuss our thoughts, feelings, and questions.
I asked Callahan, on behalf of myself and my classmates, if the university was considering offering partial refunds to us because we are completing an accelerated three-semester program and are now unable to do many of the in-class and extracurricular field reporting we need to do.
That includes using state-of-the-art photography, video and audio equipment, and other technology that we simply don’t have access to at home.
Callahan’s response was dismissive and condescending. He repeatedly insisted that the quality of our education is not being compromised by a move to online learning, and told me that if I had a “negative attitude” about the transition, I wouldn’t get anything out of the rest of the semester.
I currently carry a 3.56 GPA, and pride myself on giving my fullest effort to every assignment put in front of me, regardless of the situation. That does not mean I will ignore the simple reality of our situation.
Fans who pay thousands of dollars for Super Bowl tickets would never be expected to pay the same price just to stream the game online. That logic stands when applied here.
The learning I’m going to do for the rest of the semester is not the learning I envisioned when I signed up, and I, along with the rest of my classmates who are in the same position, deserve partial refunds.
On Tuesday, master’s students were again scheduled to join a Zoom call with Callahan, at 7:30 p.m. PST.
I am now on the East Coast and forgot to account for the time difference, so I entered the meeting at 4:30 p.m. PST, which is 7:30 EST.
My username was clearly visible on the call, as was that of a member of the faculty. The rest of the people on the call had activated their video so that their faces were visible in addition to their usernames.
One professor asked Callahan how his meeting went with my master’s cohort. He proceeded to insult us, saying that “a lot of them are just mad that coronavirus is impacting their life,” and that the request for refunds was “an oddly immature response.”
We aren’t being immature for requesting refunds, Dean Callahan. You are being immature by refusing to face the truth, and for trying to vilify us for thinking rationally.
As I said before, our situation is not unique. There are students across the country fighting the same battle, including those at my alma mater, William & Mary.
There are some schools that are starting to do it right. ASU’s in-state rival, the University of Arizona, has agreed to refund housing, and Grand Canyon University will reimburse students for meal plans.
This is a battle that will continue until administrators decide to take the best interests of their students into account. Or until their enrollment suffers as students seek more ethical institutions at which to study.
But one simple fact remains: we deserve our money back.
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