The success of the new drop fee

At the beginning of the semester, the Office of the Registrar implemented a new drop fee to charge $25 for each course a student drops beginning the second week of classes. Beth Acree, the registrar, told the Wildcat, “”The overwhelming majority of drops happened in the first week. We certainly hope they were encouraged to drop earlier than usual (because of the fee).””

At first, the new fee posed some unnecessary anxiety for students. It’s unusual for a student to start the academic year without the intention of changing something in his class schedule. He may be debating adding or dropping a class, and this new fee makes this decision a bit more stressful.

Regardless, the new fee policy seems to have made everything easier on both students and faculty. Acree also told the Wildcat that the lines for schedule changes in the registration office have shortened, and the money made from the fee, estimated at $134,755, will go toward more seat availability.

With this new fee in mind, students seem to have made their decisions about dropping classes early in the semester, and this has freed up space for others needing that specific class. For easing up the class registration process, the new drop fee gets a pass.

No more flu vaccinations on campus

Now is an extremely inconvenient time to be sick, especially with decreasing Campus Health resources. Midterms have been and will continue to be distributed, homework loads remain demanding and students will still want to find a way to have a life outside of class. Unfortunately, we don’t recommend heavy socializing right now, at least to those who feel a sore throat developing.

According to recent a Wildcat report, the set of H1N1 vaccines will arrive on campus in early November, so in the meantime, students stuck on campus cannot conveniently get any type of flu vaccination. This is particularly problematic for hall residents who have to live around hundreds of potentially sick people.

Campus Health spokesperson Terri West said of the seasonal flu epidemic on campus, “”It looks like we’re starting to increase again,”” so Campus Health officials need to take this observation seriously and order more flu vaccinations until the release of the H1N1 vaccines next month. People are still going to catch something, and the healthy will continue to be at risk. This is an inadequate response. For failing to replenish the much-needed shots while so many people are getting sick, Campus Health gets a fail.

Who said anything about no transparency?

Want a free answer to a pressing legal question? ASUA legal adviser Susan Ferrell can tell you whatever you need to know on certain legal issues free of charge.

“”One of the biggest problems I see is when students are taken advantage of by their landlords,”” she told the Wildcat yesterday. “”Students often come to me in regards to getting back a security deposit.””

The security deposit problem is one that many students are familiar with, and it’s a relief to know there’s someone willing to discuss the legality of this issue at no cost. Besides advising on landlords potentially taking advantage of students, Ferrell discusses a myriad of legal issues that students may face, and she makes herself available five days a week.

For providing a necessary and helpful free service to students as well as taking a step toward transparency, ASUA gets a pass.

Columbine shooter’s mom writes essay

More than 10 years after the Columbine massacre, the mother of shooter Dylan Klebold released an essay in O, The Oprah Magazine.

Some parents of Columbine victims support the message behind Susan Klebold’s essay.

“”It appears to me that she is doing this in hopes of preventing another suicide or another murder-suicide,”” Brian Rohrbough, who lost his 15-year-old son in the Columbine massacre, told ABC News.

Other parents have not had such a positive reaction to Susan’s writing, and that’s perfectly understandable.

“”We’ve never received a personal apology from the Harris’s or the Klebolds, and in those early days it would have meant a lot,”” said Misty Bernall, mother of one of the Columbine victims.

The Columbine killings took place a decade ago, yet the event remains fresh in everyone’s mind. The fear of a school shooting also affects students at the college level, especially in recent years, so Susan Klebold made a wise decision to publish her words. It seems she hopes to stop future massacres, but for further upsetting the parents of victims, the essay endeavor gets an incomplete.

— Editorials are determined by the opinions board and written by one of its members. They include Alex Dalenberg, Justyn Dillingham, Laura Donovan, Heather Price-Wright, Dan Sotelo and Anna Swenson.