THEPENDULUM
ELON, NORTH CAROLINA | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011 | VOLUME 37, EDITION 5
www.elon.edu/pendulum
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN ALLENBY I Staff Photographer
Increased tuition price tag leaves
families longing for clearance sales
Working on campus mutually
beneficial for students, university
Sam Parker
Senior Reporter
Although she's still a student,
sophomore Rachael Creech said she
worries about the educational future
of her siblings. The oldest of three
children and the only one currently
in college, she said she doubts her
brother and sister will enjoy the same
experiences she's had as a student.
“With my parents sending me to
Elon and paying all the money that
continues to be increasing, I don't
know if my sister will, financially, be
able to experience the small private
school like I am,” Creech said. “If the
prices keep going up and my brother
goes off to college with the same
situation, it will negatively benefit my
sister in the long-run."
As Elon's Board of Trustees met in
a special session Feb. 14 to discuss
the proposed fiscal budget for the
2011-2012 school year, the trustees
approved the proposal as is, meaning
an increase in tuition and other fees
will be put into effect at the end of this
school year.
With the approval, next year’s
tuition increase of 3.98 percent means
raising the cost of tuition to $27,881,
while room and board will be set at
$9,090 for the average Elon student.
Although the increase is the lowest
of its kind in more than a decade,
students are concerned about how
their families will manage to continue
paying the bills.
Creech said although her family
is trying to figure out how to afford
the higher tuition, it is not the ideal
situation. She said Elon is worth the
money, a priority in the institution’s
objectives to remain a best-value
university, but also said she believes
the continued rise in cost of non
tuition aspects like meal plans and
workout classes are unnecessary.
Creech said she believes these
financial implementations will lead
to a lower level of socioeconomic
diversity.
“Yes, there are scholarships but
if people get partial scholarships,
it will still be expensive for parents
to make up the difference,” Creech
said. “I believe Elon strongly values
diversity, but by increasing the tuition,
it will weed out people that were once
accepted solely because they will not
See BUDGET | PAGE 4
Marlena Chertock
Design Editor
Sophomore joy Debolt works three
jobs, takes 18 credits per semester
and still finds free time for herself
and friends.
Debolt is one of the hundreds of
Elon University students who hold
positions on campus through the
Federal Work Study program, which
is awarded to students who need
to work on campus and are paid
according to the hours they work.
The awards vary based on amount
of need, though students are never
guaranteed a job, according to the
student employment page on Elon's
website.
Institutional Work Study, also
called Elon Work Study, is a program
similar to Federal Work Study but
need is not a factor in determining
eligibility, according to the website.
“When a student is (in the) Federal
Work Study Program, three quarters
of their pay comes from the federal
government and one quarter from
Elon,” said Patrick Murphy, director
of financial planning. “When a
student is Institutional Work Study,
all the pay is from Elon.”
Debolt first started working on
campus because her mother told her
she had to use her own spending
money in college.
When students juggle jobs,
class, clubs and other activities,
organization is necessary, according
to Debolt. Having a calendar or
planner is key, she said.
“If I notice that I have enough time
to watch five TV shows in one night,
I get a job," Debolt said. “That's kind
of my philosophy. Not that 1 don’t like
free time.”
Students often complain they don't
have time to work in the day but there
are jobs on campus for morning, day
and night shifts. Debolt said.
There are many students who work
in the library at night, such as senior
Justin Berger, who has worked at Belk
Library since he was a sophomore.
Students who have worked the
most semesters at Belk are able to
choose the shifts they want first. It is
similar to registration, Berger said.
“It's unfortunate for (some
students) because we haven’t hired
anybody since I believe fall 2009 due
See EMPLOYMENT I PAGE 2
Fellows Weekond: A mako-or-broak event
Anna Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
Applying to the Fellows Program can
be called a waiting game.
After filling out the application,
receiving an invitation to Fellows
Weekend filled with interviews and
essays, the waiting continues.
For some students, the chance to join
one of Elon's seven Fellows Programs is
worth the wait.
Several hundred students hoping
to be accepted will arrive on Elon's
campus in the first weekend of March
for Fellows Weekend and each candidate
will attend a class, write an essay and
be interviewed by a faculty member.
But it’s the reflective student capable
of critical thinking that will be chosen
said Nancy Harris, associate deari of
Elon College and director of Elon College
Fellows. . .
“We are looking for people who are
thoughtful, who are reflective and have
depth,” Harris said. “Who can thmk
through with some depth and write a
good response to an experience they
iust had.” , ,
During the interview, students have
to prove they are motivated, engage
and willing to take advantage of the
opportunities given them during
Fellows process, she said.
The seven programs
Communications, Busmess,
International, Isabella
Leadership. College, Honors and
Teaching — come with scholarships,
grants for research or travel and the
chance to live with other Fellows.
This can mean completing a research
proposal or planning a way to leave a
legacy on campus. For the Leadership
Fellows, the students must complete
the four phases of leadership through
the Isabella Cannon Center.
“Once we have them here that is when
we ask them to set the world on fire,”
said Steven Mencarini, director of the
center of leadership and director of the
Leadership Fellows. “To take ownership
of their Elon leadership experience. To
say, ‘Hey I have been selected. 1 have a
responsibility to make a difference on
Elon's campus.”
In the College Fellows program,
students spend their first two years
studying the various types of arts and
sciences including arts, humanities.
social sciences, math and natural
sciences. In their last two years they
narrow in on their particular major.
“The program has breadth and
depth,” Harris said. “They learn about
all of the arts and sciences, what kind
of questions they ask, what kind of
assumptions they have and what kind
of inquires they have. They come to
appreciate all of the arts and sciences.”
The decision to enter a Fellows
Program should not be taken lightly
and is a large time commitment, Harris
and Mencarini said.
“It takes commitment,” he said.
“Students who are a part Isabella
Cannon Program recognize it is a four
See FELLOWS I PAGE 4