Northwestern first-year student offers view on Polley vs. Northwestern lawsuit

By Mateo Sufuentes ‘21

Zoom interview with Ezra Rich. Photo by Mateo Sufuentes.

A Northwestern University alum, Nathaniel Polley, filed a lawsuit against the college on behalf of Northwestern students during the COVID-19 pandemic for what he deemed to be excessive tuition for virtual classes. 

“Students pay the school’s high tuition and fees to be on campus, to meet face-to-face with classmates and professors...” said Polley’s attorney on this case, Yvette Golan. 

Current Northwestern student and Catlin Gabel School alum Ezra Rich shared his take on the matter.

Even though Rich agreed with Golan’s statement, he put others’ needs before his own when he thought about the cost of tuition, which had decreased by 5% during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What I think would have been a lot smarter would have been to work to take that 5% and work to really provide financial aid to those people who need it,” he said.

Rich explained that most of his large, lecture-based classes at Northwestern were similar to what they would have been on campus. Discussion-based sections such as his Freshman Seminar (which has 15 students) have been more difficult over Zoom, as well as not having access to lab equipment necessary for his STEM classes.

However, Rich most misses the social aspect of his college experience as social interactions are limited to student-created Facebook group chats.The Northwestern week-and-a-half-long orientation was also held over Zoom. 

Rich recognized, however, that he has not experienced Northwestern as a graduate student the way Polley did and therefore feels less entitled to a reduced tuition. As a first-year student, his on-campus research needs are much less urgent or necessary than a graduate student’s.