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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

Satire: Consider bartering when paying your tuition

Since tuition is set to increase to $30,000 for the 2010-2011 school year, students are going to have to be more creative with how they pay for their tuition. While it is beneficial to get a summer job or practice saving money during the year, I think it’s time we reinvigorate a time-honored tradition: bartering.

Frankly, I can’t afford the $30,000 next year, even with my scholarship and a summer job. But I don’t want to disrespect the education I’m receiving by not paying my bills. So when the first bill drops in my account, I plan to visit Chancellor Victor Boschini in his office and bring him my tuition deposit personally. He accepts cows as payment, right?

If not, I’m sure I can get a hold of a chicken or two. Times are tough though. He might have to make do with a pair of slightly-used tennis shoes and my good word that I will get TCU my tuition payment as soon as the next farmers market opens.

In my mind, bartering is a tradition that faded away unnecessarily with the advent of coinage. Even as the great empires of the world expanded, and with them the use of a standardized coin, bartering is a practice that remained. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. You let me copy your notes from class, and I won’t tell your parents exactly how drunk you were at the last tailgate. It’s a fair (mostly) and often interesting exchange.

Another benefit of bartering is determining what others value beyond money. Sure, cold hard cash makes the rest of your unappealing Christmas presents seem a little more bearable, but why settle for cash when you can have a pair of handmade socks from your grandmother, fresh off the knitting needles? How about making someone else a meal in exchange for help studying? Supposing you can cook, this is a pretty sweet deal.

While it’s not quite as fair anymore to trade your daughter for a fresh plot of land, there are many benefits to bartering. It can, in fact, increase the breadth of our education and the university should support it.

So, chancellor, where should I put this cow?

Libby Davis is a junior news-editorial journalism and history major from Coppell.

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