Getting Out What You Put In

The saying you get out what you put in is true for most things in life. This sentiment goes without saying for students here at Haskell. Could incentives like more student activities and better services encourage students to pay increased fees for better quality?

Ashley Lucero from the Lummi Tribe in Washington said she would be willing to pay increased fees for things like better cleaning services for the dorms and bathrooms and better quality food at Curtis.

The Haskell Foundation is the department in charge of raising money for the school. Vance Blackfox of the Haskell Foundation says that “we use things like mail campaigns, magazines, and tribal and community relationships to raise funds for Haskell and that they are working towards developing a culture of giving to Haskell. Since its founding it has done its best to raise funds through other tribes and past alumni, but will it be enough?

Student, Remington Gritts, said that he would also be in favor of raising the school fees for better quality of services and thinks that the school and its alumni are not doing enough on their part to fundraise for the school.
Gritts said “this current presidential (Trump) administration will continue to defund many programs nationwide, and that the school fundraising association should be doing everything they can to raise as much money as it can without relying on the federal government”.

But some people are not as willing to accept students paying more for school. Library Technician, Danielle Horn, said that the budget cuts the school has suffered have been a major impact on every department. She said the Library has had to cut things like the amount of available books and databases available to each student, as well as many cuts to the number of leisure magazine subscriptions like Sports Illustrated and People Magazine. She said the library has multiple foundation issues that need to fixed, alongside the numerous technology renovations and updates to the computer lab. But she stated that it is not the student’s responsibility to keep up the renovations for the buildings and calls for better allocation of available resources could help to get the renovations and repairs that this school needs. She said the budget cuts also affect student workers campus wide.

Tom Spottedhorse, Housing supervisor, said that the fees that students pay every semester go directly back to the students, in terms of things like new furniture like desks, dressers, and mattresses, having the carpet in the dorms shampooed, and replacing window panes, and screens. He said that the housing department salaries are supplied by the school and that he is against raising the fees and, like most, he thinks a reconfiguration of the budget could benefit every department.

Rex Cully, Student Recreation Department, had an opposite sentiment. He said a fee increase would be beneficial to student activities in increasing the frequency of special events and activities, and also provide transportation to activities off campus. He said that in the past the budget that student activities received was enough for a trip to Worlds of Fun amusement park, but now the cost of a bus for students has more than doubled what it used to cost. Rex stated that a bus for student travel could upwards of 400 to 500 dollars, whereas in the past it would’ve cost about 100.Not only are budget cuts something that this school will have to overcome, but will continue to be a barrier for the future of this school and its students. With a combination of better fundraising techniques and a re-allocation of available funds in the schools budget, Haskell and its students will continue to succeed and become leaders in their tribes.

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