To absolutely no one’s surprise, tuition has once again been raised.

Here are the reasons given in the campus-wide email from the President’s Office last week: enjoying the renovations in Lawrence Hall, more people are applying to Point Park, our alumni are successful, there are online classes now, the costs of infrastructure and “talented faculty” are rising and of course technology and Wi-Fi is as always a priority.

But don’t worry, none of it is going to the new Playhouse and we’ve been assured that the University strives to “keep a quality education affordable.”

Let’s break it down. The renovations in Lawrence Hall include a lounge and a glass encased meeting room. They’ve also included replacing student media, WPPJ and UView, with MTV University as the entertainment in the Point Café. Tell us again how we “provide our traditional students the ability to expand their educational opportunities and experience what it will be like as they become lifelong learners after they graduate.” Shutting out student media doesn’t feel like a “student-centered, career-focused education,” and exactly how much did MTV pay for our airwaves?

We’re told that record numbers are enrolling and attending Point Park, so obviously that means we all have to pay more because there are more of us to charge? Yeah, that math works out.

Our graduates have a 94% placement rate. That’s impressive. We’re also told that this success is owed to faculty mentors, and with the cost of these “talented faculty” members, of course, tuition is raising. Which doesn’t explain why our freshly unionized adjunct faculty, aka 70% of our “talented faculty,” haven’t seen a pay raise or change in working conditions.

And Wi-Fi? Totally worth the $320 technology fee.

The fact of the matter is, we don’t know where our tuition is going. The Student Solidarity Organization (SSO) has been protesting the lack of tuition transparency and tuition raises, citing President Hennigan’s salary, the Village Park waterfall and the shiny new bronze bison hanging out in Academic Hall as the ways the University is wasting our money.

We chose Point Park. We are actively supporting this University and with our money we are saying that we believe in and trust this institution. That trust has not been returned. We are not told where our money is going. Maybe we’ll have better computer labs and better resources for student media and more innovative learning opportunities.

Maybe we’re getting an entire menagerie of bronze animals.

We are students, but in this country and at this school, we’re also consumers. We should know what we’re buying. Blind trust in Point Park isn’t going to give us a better education, and telling us that alumni are successful doesn’t mean anything when we don’t know if our money is going to support the factors of our predecessor’s success.