Student speaks out against price of Senior Week 2010

The 2010 Senior Week is a joke. It's going to cost around $400 if you plan to have a good time. The entire idea is fiscally irresponsible. And yet, every one is still going to participate. Today is the last day you can put down a minimum of $100 to reserve your spot for the events during Senior Week. What if you don't have $100 to give to a class officer today? What if your parents have to pay close to $700 dollars this month heating oil, and they can't front you the cool hundred you need? For those who have extra spending money and choose to allot a c-note towards reserving their spot or convinced their parents to loan them the money, let's take a closer look at the actual Senior Week events.

You can stomach the base cost of $250. By no means is it a small amount of money, but you're a broke college student who truly wants to be with your friends for one final week after classes. It's do-able. So you beg mom and dad long enough, and they hand over $100, with the promise that you will pay them back. You're not responsible for the full cost. There are approximately 16-17 weeks from the beginning of the second semester until its culmination. Saving $15 each week for 17 weeks, would leave you with $255. Whew! You went without takeout a few nights here and there. Your work-study boss even tossed you a few extra hours here and there. And you even switched over to Milwaukee's Best Light for an entire semester. With pride, you hand over your parents' generous loan, and the rest you give to the class officers. What a relief. Not so fast.

You'll get through Sunday's mass without having to reach deep into your empty pockets. The main event on Monday is a meal at Taylor and bingo. Alright, not bad. You get fed and the chance to win some decent prizes. The next day involves a Mystic Boat Cruise. That's solid. You'll get to bring your own beer and hang out with your friends in a pretty unique setting. Hold on a second. It's 20 extra dollars? On top of the $250? And there are only 45 spots? (I have to interject here. There are over 500 students in our class. Someone must have come up with this idea after putting in a solid shift at Leitrum's. Total joke. Get real.) Okay, well it's pretty clear you have no chance of getting a spot with a handful of friends for this event, so what's next? A night at Foxwoods and a private party at the nightclub within the casino. No free food. No free drinks. Hmm..so what did the $250 dollars get you? A lift to a casino.

Wednesday is the only worthwhile day during Senior Week. (This is the type of event that makes me a little sad about not participating). The evening in spent in Plourde for a Luau themed dinner with beer and non-alcoholic beverages. You're pumped. You get a nice meal, free brews and a chance to hang out with your friends. You even heard that members of the faculty attend. Awesome. This is nice. It makes sense.

Thursday has a bit of a la carte theme to it. If you want, you can go rock climbing. If the cinema tickles your fancy, you can catch a flick at a local theatre. There's even an opportunity to hit the links for a few hours. You're pretty pumped. You can enjoy a nice, laidback day with your friends. In the evening, there is a barbeque for students and faculty. So what's next? Maybe an event similar to the night before? You had a lot of fun, and it didn't take anything out of your pockets. Nah. You're hopping onto a bus, headed towards another nightclub. Sure three floors are rented out, but you're responsible for buying drinks. Don't expect dollar drafts either.

Listen. This isn't an attack of the individuals responsible for planning Senior Week. It can't be an easy task, and I'm glad it wasn't my job, but if it were, I would have taken a much more financially responsible approach. Transportation is expensive. I get it. Buses to and from Foxwoods and Boston cost a great deal, but forcing students to shell out the best part of $500 in order to have a good time isn't fair. My solution and suggestion for the future? Focus less on fancy venues and more on ways to allow students the opportunity to (inexpensively) spend time with the people they're saying good-bye to. Keep in mind that gambling, drinks and food cost money. Realize that students and their families pay a lot of money to go to school here, and levying even more of a financial burden on them isn't the right thing to do. Have more events like Wednesday's cookout and Thursday's barbeque. Spend more time thinking of ways to bring people together and less time on selecting the fanciest nightclub in Boston.