Policies should allow more independence

Since arriving last Friday, Aug. 17, I have been bombarded with extra expenses. It is bad enough dishing out $14,000 a year to attend this University without being forced to buy pre-packaged notes at the Purdue Memorial Union or at the Copy Mat on Chauncey Hill. My first days were full of companies pandering me to buy lofts, bicycles, extra books, carpets and anything one could possibly imagine a freshman would need to start his years at good old Purdue.

As if the constant pressure to buy new things weren’t enough, Purdue policies have driven me over the edge. Along with renting a dorm room comes selecting a meal plan, and I chose to buy the 15 meals per week plan. This plan costs, dorm room included, $5,480 a year. One would believe that one could do whatever he/she wanted to with those 15 meals. If I, for instance, knew that I was not going to use all 15 meals, I should be able to do whatever I wanted to with the meals left over. I purchased 15 meals and therefore they are now my possession. However, this is not the case. If I have a guest he/she must either pay or use my Purdue Dining Dollars. Just another moneymaking scheme by this University. Make the guests pay instead of doing the convenient, yet not as profitable, way. I should be able to give my extra meals to anyone I damn well please. My family paid a lot of money to get these things, and I come up here and find they are restricted.

I suggest Purdue revert back to an educational institution that cares more for its students educational well-being than it does for its economical status.

Danny Conard

Freshman, School of Management

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Policies should allow more independence

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