American U Offers To Pay For Extended Metro Service from Nationals Park

This week on weird, wasteful ways American University is spending our tuition dollars: AU is fronting the bill to keep the metro open late to ensure transportation from evening Washington Nationals post-season games. The price? $30,000 per extra extended hour needed.

Announced earlier today in front of the Tenleytown Metro Station, Neil Kerwin supported the partnership stating, “AU is known for helping people in Washington ‘get to where they want to go’—and now supports Nats fans in post-season play.”

And according to a statement released by WMATA, AU is willing to pay to keep the metro open past regular hours of 10:30 pm to as late as 1:20 am. Do the math, and this adds up to almost $90,000 for just one night. Although LivingSocial had a similar partnership in 2012 and no games ran late, do we really want to gamble this amount of money to chance?

Okay, I get it. From your perspective, this is a great PR move—the partnership is a way to get the AU name out there as a university that supports and cares about its community. It is important that students have a safe and affordable way to get home from games if they are attending. But let’s take a step back. Where did this money come from? If it’s from student’s tuition, isn’t there a better way to invest this money so it benefits those who pay it in the first place?

I can think of dozens of better ways to spend the money: improved, more reliable or extended shuttle service, more outlets in study spaces, improved dining services, a faster Eagle Secure, better campus events, or even helping charitable organizations improve the DC area.  Or, how about this for a crazy thought, providing more financial aid to those students who deserve and need it?

All in all, I am appalled by this decision. To spend this kind of money to support a baseball team unaffiliated with the university is a slap in the face to students paying for a good education, not a ride home from a game. I know you can do better than this, AU.

What could American University do with the $30,000 instead?

• Financial aid for 1.5 students for a semester
• Hire more professors to decrease the class sizes
• Redirect the funding to campus clubs and organizations

Just a few ideas. At the very least, I think most students would rather see TDR and the Tavern open an hour longer. 

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Update: It’s come to our attention that the money deposited by American will most likely be reimbursed if ridership is high enough after the games. This is great news as the university will most likely be refunded for the deposit. We’re thrilled this is the case and we wish American U originally would have been clearer in reporting the details of the partnership.