Just last week, U. Oklahoma  announced that tuition was going up 4.5 percent. Students were understandably upset. We already have some of the highest fees in the Big 12, and now we have to pay even more per credit hour.

But things like state budget shortfalls happen and we have to accept them. At this same meeting, however, OU gave the seven members that make up the Board of Regents brand new Apple iPads. This is something we do not have to accept.

It’s all about keeping up appearances. OU cannot appear to be in a budget crisis and raise our tuition one minute, then turn around and toss out free iPads the next. The cheapest model of iPad on the market is $499. The most expensive is $829. We don’t know which model they received. But it is upsetting to see these regents, who have plenty of money to buy their own iPads, be given them at no cost. Well, at no cost to them. At cost to the students.

The purpose of the iPads was to help the Regents “go green.” The agenda last week was more than 200 pages and now, with the iPad, they have the option to not print it out. This will save the university money, OU Information Technology claims.

Let’s do some math. A case of paper contains 10 reams at 500 pages each. That’s 5,000 pages. That case is around $40. Assuming that the Regents’ agenda was only 200 pages and let’s say 15 were printed out (for all the regents, President David Boren and various guests). That’s 3,000 pages a meeting used. There are seven meetings a year. That’s 21,000 pages used, or four whole boxes of paper (a fifth having to be bought for the other 1,000 pages). A total cost of $200 a year.

Now, if the Regents received the least expensive iPad ($499), that is a total cost of $3,493 (tax withholding). So, we will start to save money after a little more than 17 years. And who knows what awesome new technology will be out then. Perhaps a machine that can come up with better excuses for wasting student money?

But we can always hope. Hope that the Regents, with their infinite wisdom, chose to sacrifice 3G coverage and larger hard drives for the least expensive iPads. Then they can join students in sacrificing their dreams of going to college.