LETTER: Why stop at health insurance?

To the editor:

I think requiring students to obtain health insurance is a great idea. Students are wily creatures, and need guidance and direction. My question is, why stop with health insurance?

There was an article in the Statesman a few years ago about a student who lived out of his car. This is ridiculous. Why should a respectable student be permitted to act a vagrant? Students should be required to prove proper living arrangements before enrolling. This could be accomplished with a rental contract, mortgage papers, or a deed to a home. How can we rest when USU students are living on the street?

Many students attend school with little or no cash. Can you believe it? Real, live students are attending USU right now with nothing set aside for emergency car repair, family difficulty, or natural disasters. ASUSU should require students to have at least $1500 in their checking account before they can enroll. Who will pay for these emergencies if a student can’t?

Another big problem at USU is the diet students follow. I had a roommate that once went over a week eating nothing but zingers and tiny-spicy chicken. Again, ridiculous! Students should prove they have a fridge full of “FDA pyramid” food before being allowed to enroll. A representative from the registrar’s office should visit each residence (remember, no cars) and verify the fridge exists and is stocked with good eats.

Some majors are very demanding. Interior design students, for instance, are required to spend hundreds of hours each semester on projects and models. This work is too hard to be done by a student with a full-time job. Students should be prohibited from keeping full-time employment while attending USU. Doing this would increase the overall GPA of the school, thereby improving career placement. ASUSU should require all students to prove they are not working full-time before enrolling.

This all makes sense, right? Encourage students to obtain adequate housing, to eat well, and study hard; all good things, right?

Please sense the preceeding sarcasm and make a wise decision.

Michael Badgett