For as long as I have been attending Webster University, they have provided Commuter Students with a $100 point plan to encourage students to participate in on campus activities. Unfortunately, Webster has decided to go back on those terms in our most recent return to campus this Fall 2021 semester. This is a major problem that needs to be tackled immediately. 

With many of us spending $4,000 plus out of pockets, not too mention textbook costs and gas costs for driving to and from school on a daily or every other day basis, we do not have the funds to pay for food while at school. For a number of commuter students, the free $100 commuter points were a huge incentive for choosing Webster University. 

While the University has provided a forum for the first  125 commuters to fill out, the forum was filled within 10 minutes of its posting. With the amount of students at Webster who are commuters, this is not a substantial number to go by when giving out something we were supposed to be given upon enrollment. While I do understand the frustration of giving this money out to those who do not use it. However, there are much more ethical ways of handling this situation than what Webster University is currently attempting. 

For the University to back out of this as unpredictably as they did, is something we as a student body, should not have to fear when returning after a pandemic. While everyone is going through difficult times right now due to the pandemic, however for a University that has been charging full prices for online classes for the past year, this is a decision that makes me, as well as many others, ashamed to call Webster our University. By ridding students of the commuter points, Webster is proclaiming that commuter students are not a priority nor are we cared for at all. In fact, it puts out the message that commuter students are simply accepted here to provide an income for the university. 

Webster cannot continue to proclaim itself as a progressive school, if they continue to go back on everything that has made them a progressive school. By signing this petition you are participating in gaining back our well deserved commuter points.