Newspaper Page Text
Volume II
Atlanta, Georgia
February 18, 1983
Do You Know Where Your Money Is Going?
by Thomasina Toler
Have you thought about ex
actly how your money is spent?
Maybe just out of curiosity you
might wonder how your tuition
money is being used. Well here is
your chance to clear up most
questions that have probably
crossed your mind from time to
time.
According to Mr. Robert
Flanigan, Vice President for
business and financial affairs, it
takes 11,100,053 dollars to
operate Spelman College.
Spelman students pay 4.4 million
dollars of that total which is
about 39%. Spelman receives the
difference from the following
sources: grants, the Federal
government, endowment in
come, auxiliary enterprises in
come, and private gifts and
grants for operational purposes.
Spelman does have a 25 million
dollar endowment, but only the
income earned from the endow
ment can be spent for current
operations.
The records show that this is
how the money is spent.
Maintenance of building,
grounds, custodial services, utili
ty and insurance comes to $800,-
000 dollars which comes directly
from the student. The academic
affairs which includes teacher’s
salaries comes to 3.3 million a
year. The food services which
include food, utilities, and
maintenance cost $850,000
dolalrs. The scholarships and
federal student aid totals 2.1
million dollars. The cost of
paying for general ad-
ministraiton comes to 1.8 million
dollars. The student services
amount to $900,000. The debt
services amount ot $300,000 and
other auxiliary operations totals
about $200,000.
This is what Spelman students
are exactly paying for. Each
student pays $3,210 for
How To Talk
To The President
by Thomasina Toler
There comes a time in the
college careers of most college
students when she needs to talk
to the President of her institu
tion. Students may be wondering
how to go about this. Here is a
step by step procedure to follow
when a studentwantsto makean
appointment with the President.
The number to the office is 681-
3643, but the student can also
come to the President’s office in
person and make her appoint
ment with Dr. Stewart’s personal
secretary and receptionist, Mrs.
J. Marshall. After doing this,
make sure that you are prompt,
for your appointment. If you can
not make your appointment,
they ask that you notify them as
early as possible.
Now that you know the
procedure to meet with the
President, you may be wonder
ing what kinds of problems you
can bring to him. As you may
know, there are several
departments that specialize in
certain problems. For example,
there is the Financial Aid Depart
ment, Academic Department,
Housing Department, College
Work Study and Student Ac
counts. If you have a problem in
these related areas, it is best to go
directly to these departments to
try and get it solved. If these
departments fail to solve your
problem, you may want to make
an appointment to discuss your
specific problem with Dr.
Stewart. If you feel that you’re up
against the wall, don’t just keep
all your problems to yourself,
take them to the school ad
ministration. Remember, this is
your college and it’s up to you to
take full advantage of it.
tuition and fees. The records
show that it takes $6,800 dollars
to pay for tuition for each
student therefore Spelman is
coming up with $3,590 per
student enrolled here. Spelman
students do pay for the room and
board which includes the
maintenance of the dormitory,
utilities, food and maintenance
of the cafeteria.
Some students have complain
ed about the meal plan. There
have been suggestions to have a
seven day, fourteen day, and a
twenty-one day meal plan. These
plans mean that the student can
only eat as many meals that week
as her individual plan calls for.
After talking to Mr. Flanigan led
me to believe that if Spelman, a
small private college oranysmall
private college established such
a system eventually it would,
cause the students to pay more in
the long run. The food system
Spelman uses causes the ad
ministration to buy food in large
amounts because the food is less
expensive. So, if the food was cut
in half we would still pay a great
amount for it. The maintenance
and utility bill would still be the
same. But because fewer
students would be eating, the
students that do eat are sure to
see an increase in board. Mr.
Flanigan made it very clearthat it
is possible that Spelman may see
a change in the meal plan, but its
not probable in the near future.
The next issue discussed was
college fees. Each Spelmanite
pays a total of $175 dollars for
activity fees. The breakdown of
fees consist of $90 dollars for the
use of Manley center. The total
comes to around $135,500 and
according to Mr. Flanigan it is
not nearly enough to operate
Manley Center. So who makes
up the difference? "Spelman
does,” says Mr. Flanigan. The
$50.00 for health goes to the
infirmary for medical services
includingminor illnesses treated
at the college infirmary. The
student activity fee covers ac
tivities such as dances, student
publications and plays and is
paid directly to the S.S.G.A. and
lastly the cultural fees pay for the
speakers and visitors that appear
on campus. I asked Mr. Flanigan
if there was any possible way that
the activity fee could be cut
down. He implied that Spelman
students are already paying only
a share of what it takes to run
Spelman College. ‘‘If the
students were to truly be fair
they wouldn't even think of such
an unfair deal.”
But we are the students here
and it is up to us to look after our
money and investments. Any
student wishing to find out more
about the financial aspects of
Spelman can go to the business
department and research for her
own satisfaction.