My time at CSUN

By Contributor
May 16th, 2011
Section: Opinions

Conor Lansdale
contributor

The Fall of 2006 was my first semester on campus, and every day since then I have been impressed and proud of our leadership for taking strides to improve our enjoyment and to enhance our experiences while pursuing a degree. There used to be only 2 parking structures, vintage apartment-style dorm suites, and little to no Matador Spirit, a.k.a. Matatude.

Those days are well past us now, but there have been two constants throughout the past few years – rising tuition and student fees and more value in your education than ever before.

The purpose of this letter to the Daily Sundial and to all Matadors, who either pick up the newspaper on campus or peruse it over their smart phone or tablet, has also been one of my goals during my undergraduate career, which is to dispel misinformation.

Yes, our tuition and student fees have increased over the past few years, but don’t pigeonhole your perspective. This campus has given back to you more than you probably know.

Go on to the www.calstate.edu budget page and find the 2010-11 California State University Tuition and Fees webpage.  You will see that CSU Northridge costs less than the average at the 23 campuses by over $100.

Then, if you explore www.collegeportraits.org, you will see a link for the Average Loan Debt of 2008-09 Baccalaureate Recipients who Started as Freshmen and Assumed Loans.  For a CSUN student, the average is $15,165 versus the state average, which is $17,326.  Compare this to the national average of $24,000.

The other important and relevant data provided by College Portraits is found on a link to Salaries of Baccalaureate Recipients — Payscale (2010).  The national average starting median salary of graduates from public universities is $41,525, however CSUN graduates’ median starting salary is $43,200.

I could provide data all day long about why CSUN is outstanding by most measures that parents, guidance counselors, and even state legislators monitor, but what really matters, to me, is that YOU know the value of your education and experiences here at California State University, Northridge.

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  • Jeff L

    Budget issues are always hit and miss. I doubt there are any concrete ways on how to budget because every person has their own ways.

    google

  • Jeff L

    Joey, what would you call it?

  • Dakota Lopez

     Conor Lansdale proves yet again that he is out of touch with the majority of students. He basically just called most students “misinformed”. It is insulting that he is giving us a directory on how to understand budget issues at CSUN.  He thinks he is the smartest person on campus by doing this when he is really not. He has done nothing for the campus and am glad he is leaving. All he has done is bully his constituents and act arrogant to address any concerns. Since he sees the majority as stupid and misinformed, it should be known that the only thing he will be known for is supporting Gov Jerry Brown’s 5 year tax increase on all students (higher sales tax, gas tax, car tax, income tax, etc). Shame on CONOR

  • Joey M.

    This article is inaccurately titled.