Will George, 22, paid his TRU tuition today with 11,000 nickels.
Image Credit: (Contributed)
February 07, 2014 - 11:14 AM
KAMLOOPS - A TRU student paid for his final course today but not before demonstrating the financial strain on students in a unique way.
He wheeled his burden into the TRU cashier to make an unusual payment of 11,000 nickels.
Will George, 22, graduates this spring and admits his final payment was a stunt, but a carefully crafted one.
“I was just paying my final course of my final year and showing students how much one course is in nickels,” he said.
George is a vice president of TRU’s Students’ Union, but he planned the photo op independently of the group, though TRUSU donated materials and has a Drop Fees! campaign.
He got help from his school fraternity and was joined by roughly 20 students as he wheeled a barrow filled with $550 in nickels from the furthest parking lot through campus buildings to the cashier in the Old Main building.
“11,000 is a lot to prepare,” he said with a laugh.
But before any other students decide to pay in nickels, you might not get the privilege. George cleared it through the cashier and brought them in nicely rolled. He prepared because he didn't mean to inconvenience some poor cashier’s day. It was meant to spark conversation, he says. More to the point—he wants more affordable post secondary education.
“It’s not just about tuition, it’s about all the other financial burdens,” he said, adding parking, food services, books and cost of living add up. “There’s tons of ways that students are facing financial burden while trying to get an education.”
He was happy with the response from students.
“It was great to talk with students about tuition fees,” he said. “There was lots of conversations.”
He’s not sure where he’ll be after graduation, but he’s confident he'll have a few more nickels in his pocket.
To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494.
Image Credit: (Contributed)
Image Credit: (Contributed)
News from © iNFOnews, 2014