Tuition is going up again, 6.4 percent for the 2006-07 calendar year. A rise in tuition is never a good thing for students, parents or whomever is paying the bills. However, it may not be as bad as you’d think.

Tuition will be $21,935 for next year, along with standard room of $3,013, full board at $3,265, student government fee of $231 and a student center fee of $100.

These increases aren’t random, tuition went up because Simpson needs to remain competitive, especially in retaining and attracting quality faculty.

One small portion of the increase comes as a means to raise money for the new student center. This new fee, while relatively small in comparison to overall tuition, can be somewhat irritating to current students. While we understand that the college wants to get moving on the new student center, we don’t think that the college should force current students to fund the new center. As the monies will be collected over 25 years, students in 2031 may see some groundbreaking. Therefore, we won’t be here to see it or use it so why should we pay for it. If we want to give monies to the college for the new student center, we should do so of our own accord.

Student center fee aside, one of the main concerns with rising tuition is whether or not students will be able to afford Simpson and the price tag for next year may seem a little forbidding to some.

But the good news for students is that financial aid is going up as well. According to Ken Birkenholtz, vice president for business and finance, part of the 6.4 percent increase is going right back to students in the form of financial aid.

This shows that the college realizes getting an education is an expensive venture, and as students, we should recognize that the college is trying to keep it as economically possible to receive a Simpson College education.