Loyola Chicago's Tuition Increases Have Forced Students To Literally Rob City Workers For Lunch Money
CWBChicago - A Loyola University student on his way to school robbed a Metra conductor at gunpoint Tuesday afternoon because he was hungry and needed money to get some food before class — and that’s according to his defense attorney.
Zion Brown, 18, was arrested later that night after his mother recognized him in news coverage of the robbery and drove him to the Calumet City police department to surrender, prosecutors said.
According to the allegations, the Metra Electric Line train had just arrived at the Van Buren Street Station in Grant Park when Brown pulled out a gun and pointed it at the train conductor’s stomach around 2:07 p.m. He allegedly took $110 from the conductor’s pockets on the platform and left the station.
Brown later told police that he saw the conductor handling cash on the train and decided to rob him of the money, prosecutors said. His private defense attorney said Brown was hungry and was looking for something to eat.
During a police interview, Brown, who has no criminal background, allegedly said the weapon he displayed was a BB gun that he tossed into a dumpster after the robbery.
Sometimes life is funny.
Back in January I was hot and bothered
(no Kate, not like that)
about Loyola Chicago increasing tuition.
Not just the fact they were increasing it. But the fact they were increasing it at a time where students have spent more time in front of their computer screen, confined to dorm rooms, libraries, or after being sent home for the semester, than they have in actual classrooms.
What the fuck are they paying for exactly?
Now listen. Is $1690 going to break anybody's bank? 3.65% as Loyola President Jo Ann Rooney so shyly put it?
No, probably not.
But this is how it starts. And sadly this isn't even close to the first increase in tuition during her tenure. Which is pretty fucking outrageous when you consider she touted herself at the beginning of her tenure on her promise to not raise tuition.
Loyola Phoenix - Despite a pledge Rooney made during her inaugural address to stop the university’s reliance on tuition increases, the cost of being a Loyola student has gone up every year of her presidency — totaling an overall increase of $6,380 since her first year in office, with this increase being the highest of her tenure.
Rooney, who hasn’t answered The Phoenix’s questions about tuition increases since 2017, wasn’t available to come to the phone, according to Loyola spokesperson Matt McDermott.
Loyola’s tuition has gone up every year since 1989, The Phoenix reported. The latest increase of 3.65% was decided on during the final year of Loyola President Jo Ann Rooney’s tenure, as she’s expected to depart from her position at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year.
(You gotta love her taking a page out of the Lori Lightfoot playbook and avoiding criticism or questions she doesn't want to answer by just ignoring them and the media altogether)
Listen, I'm a proud Loyola alum.
I went to the school back before Father Garanzini transformed it into the gorgeous campus, with state-of-the-art facilities, that it is today.
The downtown campus alone has to be worth billions of dollars.
The Lakeshore campus is some of the most beautiful real estate you'll find anywhere on Lake Michigan, or in the midwest for that matter.
The academics and athletic program only continue to get better each year also.
(Granted, it was also a fraction of the price then, that it costs to attend today. I also wouldn't have been able to afford that had it not been for scholarships, grants, and student loans. Shout out the Jesuits.)
All positives and all justifications to increase prices.
IF, covid wasn't wreaking havoc on the school year and the entire "college experience."
Honestly, what are these kids paying for right now?
Aside from not getting to socialize and interact in an actual classroom, there's no extracurriculars. No Pumping Company (R.I.P.), no Hamiltons aka Bar 63 anymore. No ADG House. No 1247 Northshore rippers. Couldn't go to basketball or volleyball games in person for forever. WTF do these kids do?
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This is nothing but a University Of Phoenix education decked out in a rugby shirt and some boat shoes.
We've literally got students robbing metra conductors because they can't afford to eat the concession stand food at Mertz.
Sad day to be a Rambler indeed.
Check out Chief and Eddie's discussion on the student debt crisis and the racket that is the college tuition complex.