The average cost to attend Elon: $28,000 Expenses for a family to travel to Elon: $2,500 Watching your child get recognized for being on the President’s List: $68?

Elon’s Spring Convocation for Honors last semester left much to be desired. Although the seniors who spoke on their experiences brought a lot of life to the event, the lack of attendance and enthusiasm made convocation hard to sit through.

Even more disconcerting is the fact that my parents, who not only pay thousands of dollars for me to attend Elon, but also donate to the university, had to pay to go to convocation ($16 each). Not even my twelve year old brother was given a break.

If my parents are paying so much to Elon, why in the world do they have to pay more to attend an event that is supposed to recognize the achievements of students?

For events such as these, where students are recognized for their work, parents should not have to pay to attend and be proud of their child.

The best solution would be to allow students to have two or three tickets each for such events so their parents are not burdened by spending money when it already costs so much to go to school here.

Then, enjoying the ceremony would truly be priceless.

Student: Lauren Taylor, ‘10 - 08/29/07