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LUTHER CoLLEgE
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“Let the chips fall where they may.”
MARCH 10, 2016
Serving the Luther College community since 1884.
VoLUME 138, no. 16
“american injustice” Tuition set to increase in 2016-17
Farwell Distinguished lecturer bryan Stevenson speaks about justice, the law and making a change.
elizabeth bonin STAFF WRITER
Bryan Stevenson addressed systematic injustice in the Center for Faith and Life. Joram mutenge STAFF WRITER Bryan Stevenson gave a lecture titled “American Injustice: Mercy, Humanity and Making a Difference” on March 1 in the Center for Faith and Life Main Hall. The lecture was part of the Farwell Distinguished Lecture Series. Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a nonprofit that seeks to provide legal representation to prisoners who the organization feels have not received just treatment by the law. Before founding the EJI, Stevenson served as a public interest lawyer. Stevenson has dedicated his life to helping the poor, the incarcerated and all who he believes to be unjustly condemned by the United States legal system. Stevenson is also the author of the book, “Just Mercy.”
Megan Oliver / Photo Bureau
Director of Campus Programming Tanya Gertz explained that Luther chooses speakers for the Farwell lecture series who can facilitate campuswide conversations about important topics in our world. Because of this, Gertz thinks that Stevenson was a perfect fit. “[Stevenson] brings a deeply compassionate heart with a brilliant systemic mind that puts at the heart of it an understanding that he cares about an individual—every individual person,” Gertz said. Stevenson’s lecture focused on answering the question, “How can we change the world?” He framed this question within the Unite States legal system, pointing out that in 1972 there were 300,000 people in prisions around the U.S. and today that number has increased to over 2 million. StevenSon, PAgE 4
The Board of Regents determined that the comprehensive tuition fee (tuition, room and board) will be raised by 2.9 percent for the 2016-17 school year bring the total cost to $47,960. According to Vice President for Finance and Administration Eric Runestad, the increase is comprehensive, meaning that it includes the cost of room and board as well as tuition. Runestad added that tuition is raised every year from a combination of compensation raises for staff, higher utility rates, capitol construction, the cost of food and other expenses. Runestad also said that tuition fails to cover most of the operational needs of the college. However, he added that Luther works on enrollment and affordability in order to keep the costs down. “We know that our students are very price-sensitive and we want to be able to respond to that in keeping it as affordable as possible,” Runestad said. Runestad reported that comparing prices from other schools plays a factor in setting tuition. Central College in Pella, Iowa for example, recently raised their tuition by 2.9 percent as well. Runestad also said schools that do not increase tuition may be forced to reduce the number of programs they offer. Director of Financial Aid Janice Cordell reports that comparatively, Luther has done well keeping tuition prices reasonable. “Luther has done a great job to keep our tuition costs at a very small minimum compared to some of our peers,” Cordell said. However, Cordell acknowledged that a discrepancy arises between tuition and federal aid when tuition is raised. Although federal state aid has increased, it has not kept up with recent tuition increases. Because of this, Luther has had to cut down on contribution to retirement. “The retirement contribution for employees has now been changed to a shared contribution where employees have to contribute a portion of their income to receive a lower contribution from what the college has been covering in the past,” Cordell said. “It is a reduction that many other colleges have also done to reduce costs.” tuition, PAgE 4
Oneota Film Festival continues to expand Katie nelSon nEWS EdIToR The seventh-annual Oneota Film Festival (OFF) took place in Decorah and on Luther’s campus over the weekend of March 4-6. OFF is a free film festival that screens submitted films which are selected by a board. The films shown fall into two categories: selected films and student films that are invited. The festival has been held in Decorah for seven years now, and according to OFF Director Christy Ebert Vrtis attendance has grown since its inception, with 800 people in attendance this year. “When it started there were probably about 200 to 300 people who showed up,” Ebert Vrtis said. “Since then, it has grown
steadily, and last year there were over 700 people there, and we are expecting more than that this year. We are expecting audience members coming from at least as far as Utah. The word is getting out there.” The number of submissions has also grown, adding more variety to the festival. “Last year we had 125 submissions, this year we had 252, so we more than doubled,” Ebert Vrtis said. “The majority of those are student films, but we actually had several professional films submitted this year.” OFF Vice President and Submissions Chair Bailey Mulholland (‘15) is also pushing for more student involvement. Since her first attendance to OFF there has been a growth in student numbers. Film FeStival, PAgE 4
Brooke Stauffer (‘16) signs up festival members.
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