So, I’ve been doing some thinking recently. According to my dad, this may sometimes be an issue. With this particular idea, I guess you’ll be the judge. But, what I’ve been thinking about in my final semester is where has my tuition money really gone to. I did some looking online as your school probably gives you a breakdown of where your money is spent. For the most part, it all seems like useful things. There is a Technology Fee which supports all of the universities computing demands. Student Health Service and Mental Health Fees, which are self-explanatory. A Building Fee, and many more. However, there is one fee which I feel is a bit unfair, the Recreation Facility Fee.

See, I rarely use the recreation facilities. By rarely, I mean that I’ve only been to them maybe 20 times during that past 3.5 years. I’m sure there are other students like me, and in fact, I know some students in the same boat as me. Unfortunately, I can’t find out how much this fee costs me, but I’m guessing it’s more than $40 a year it would cost me to pay $8 each time I went (approximately 5 times a year). So, the money of all of us who don’t use these services is essentially subsidizing everybody else’s use of the gym.

To remedy this issue, I propose that the university takes this money which normally goes towards the recreational facility and gives it back to the students who don’t plan to use those services. I mean, it’s really only fair. Why should we have to pay for something we aren’t going to use. For these students, they would have to pay every time they wanted to enter the rec center. Now, I know some people may argue that the entire Recreation Facility Fee doesn’t go towards the membership of the gym, but probably keeping up the facilities and whatnot, so those parts of the Fee wouldn’t be returned to the students.

Finally, and I believe this to be the real keystone of my plan, the school won’t just charge certain students less because they don’t want to access the gym, but would give this refund as gift cards to local restaurants. I believe this to be the perfect form of repayment for a few reasons. First, this ensures that each person’s money goes to something that they will use (I assume people who don’t want to work out enjoy eating out). Second, because the repayment will be a collection of gift cards, it will force the students to expand their horizons, and try those restaurants they pass every day on their way to Jimmy John’s. Finally, and maybe most importantly, it will give the local economy a boost. The University is essentially investing in the local economy with this practice, and it should help the local food places. So, what do you think? I quite like it.