By: Faith Yoho

West Virginia Wesleyan College announced in February that they will be reducing on-campus housing costs for local students by $2,000. This decrease will affect students who live in Barbour, Lewis, Randolph, or Upshur counties respectively. While some have commended that change, there are some students who feel as though this decision is unfair. Two students anonymously shared their differing opinions regarding the price drop. 

Student One, a junior at West Virginia Wesleyan College, believes that the price drop is a positive initiative. They said, “I believe the price drop is very beneficial to students coming from nearby, and provides a better incentive for incoming students to choose Wesleyan over surrounding schools.” They personally will be affected by the price drop. They also said that “the housing drop assists me by making college more affordable. Room and board is expensive, so I’m glad that Wesleyan implemented a discount for nearby students.” 

However, the student also recognizes that the price drop may be looked down upon by some. To this, they said, “I understand the controversy and tension behind this decision and I recognize that everyone should be able to have affordable education, especially higher education, but I believe that this is a step in the right direction.”

Student Two had opposite opinions on the reduced housing cost. The student said, “I find this decision to drop the prices for those who commute or live closer very unfair. As a student who has lived in West Virginia their whole life and worked hard to earn scholarships to even attend college, it truly feels like a put-down. Knowing how much it costs to pay to live in the dorm, it is ridiculous to me to lower the price for some when they supposedly don’t have the funds to make decent living conditions for many on campus. I chose to stay in the state so I would have to pay less for tuition. Now I pay a very large amount to live in rooms and buildings that are run down.” 

This student also does not believe that this decision is a step in the right direction for the school. They said, “This direction that the school is going in is appealing only to those who closely surround the school and would benefit from this new decision. I think that this will cause those out of state and those who aren’t “close enough” to qualify for the price drop to transfer or even start to live off campus.”

Despite their differences of opinion, both students believed that this price drop should have been state-wide. Student one said, “Every student deserves the chance to have an affordable higher education experience! There are even some colleges that have discounts for students from surrounding states.” Student two also agreed that the housing reduction should have applied to all in-state students. 

*The opinions and beliefs stated in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of The Pharohs staff, but are shared for journalistic purposes*