Tuition is the universal nightmare of college students from coast to coast. Whether someone attends an Ivy League university or a state school, just seeing the word FAFSA in an email can make any collegiate cringe. Everyone has all heard the adults in their life talk about the student loans they had for years after graduating.

In reality, what is it that we are paying for?

On the “student accounts” section of the Oswego State website, anyone can scroll through the numerous fees that students are required to pay. Many fees are broken down by the credit hour, revealing that Oswego State students are paying $17.83 per credit hour for something known as the “athletic fee.”

What even is the Athletic Fee?

According to the Oswego State’s website, the fee is mandatory in order to “support intercollegiate athletics” since “everyone benefits from the success of our [Oswego State] teams and their contributions to the college’s reputation and recognition.”

At the bottom of the paragraph describing the fee, there is a disclaimer reading, “the athletic fee does not fund club sports or the fitness centers.”

In other words, students will be paying over $200 a semester in addition to their fitness center membership of $55 per semester.

College athletic programs definitely have the opportunity to help promote the school in a positive light with trophies and championship titles, but would it be too much for the athletic fee to include the membership fee? Without the fitness center membership, the athletic fee seems more like a season pass to hockey games instead of a way to promote healthy lifestyles for students.

However, there is another fee students must pay that helps steer them towards better wellness habits. Appropriately titled the “health fee”, this fee is “charged for services provided by the Mary Walker Health Center.” Less expensive than the athletic fee at $14.83 per credit hour, the health fee covers the costs of medications and first aid available to students. At a maximum charge of $178 per semester, Oswego State students have a facility to help them when they have a sinus infection or need a pregnancy test. The university’s website states that “the mandatory health fee pays for the health care you receive during the current semester.”

These two charges, the athletic fee and the health fee, are both mandatory despite their drastically different impact on students. The health fee guarantees students health care when the infamous Oswego plague hits, directly helping them recover and get back to being successful academics. The Athletic Fee guarantees students the “benefit” of telling their parents about the amazing comeback Oswego made against SUNY Geneseo during Homecoming Weekend.

These fees should not be grouped together in the mandatory fees category. Having a mandatory health fee that ensures care is common sense, especially this year with the mumps outbreak sweeping the SUNY system. The athletic fee does not hold as much weight benefiting everyone as the website claims. It is highly unlikely that every student will attend a hockey game and not every student will judge the school on its athletics.

When Oswego State students receive the diploma they will spend years paying off, it is highly unlikely that many will look at that framed piece of paper and think, “Oh man, I am so glad I paid more for the baseball program than my flu shot.”