Staff Writer Daren Hembrador investigates Meramec offering free metro passes
By: DAREN HEMBRADOR
Staff Writer
Starting fall 2015, Meramec will be offering free metro passes to enrolled students. This idea was first created by Florissant Valley’s Campus Life and Student Affairs Department, and the idea is starting to spread to Meramec. The program is to ensure that students with lack of transportation secure a passage to school, and to encourage the use of public transportation. Kim Fitzgerald, vice president of Student Affairs, said the program will “prevent transportation as an obstacle to learning.”
To ensure convenient access to metro passes, the school has agreed to increase the College Activity Fee from $5 to $6 for every enrolled student to compensate for the metro. In general, there will be a dollar increase to the tuition per credit hour whether students take advantage of the program or not. The cashier’s office is set to distribute the passes to students with proof of student identification. This is an opportunity, provided by the school, for student use in order to increase attendance, connect students more with each other, and create a balance between privileged and non-privileged students, Fitzgerald said.
