The semester is coming to an end. So, too, is my undergraduate college career. And, in turn, so does my time as a student journalist here at UMass Boston.

The majority of my career here at The Mass Media has been spent giving you my opinion on meaningless things, the latest CD’s, the biggest movies, the best local restaurants.

Now, with the last few strokes of my pen that I have left I figure it is about time that I give you my opinion on some of the things that really matter here at UMB.

The following is a list of some of the things that I think you should know about the school that you attend.

Earlier this semester the Harbor Art Gallery almost brought Annie Sprinkle to our campus. That fell through due to what some thought might be considered “controversial”. The fact that Annie Sprinkle never came here is old news, but what you probably don’t know is that her presence here on campus could have been big news, really big news. Annie Sprinkle is one of this country’s biggest names in modern art, bringing someone like her here to our little school would have done wonders for the Harbor Art Gallery, not to mention the hundreds of art fans it would have brought here to our campus. But, that never happened.

You should know that right now the former Wit’s End space is a temporary “construction trailer”. What once was the home of coffee drinking students is now just storage space. In order to better facilitate the flow of money into this school you have lost one of the most valued student spaces on campus. Where you once sat sipping caffeinated beverages, where tens of thousands before you did the same, will become a hallway so that business bigwigs can have easier access to the Venture Development Center.

You should know that there is a group of students who supposedly represent you and divvy up your cash however they see fit. Sometimes it goes to a group that one of them heads or is a member of, sometimes it is a concert that one of them is putting on, but either way they are using your money to their benefit. But, they can do it because there is no one to object to it, there is no one to tell them no.

You should know how your money is being spent. Hundreds of dollars of your money was spent on pens and notebooks that, I assume, were meant to make you want to vote in the student senate elections or to become involved yourself. It didn’t work at all. The question I have is, “How much of your money will be needlessly spent next year”? How many highlighters will you pay for next semester?

Four thousand dollars of your money went to fund a “benefit” gospel concert. That concert raised one thousand dollars for the hungry here in Boston. Is spending four thousand of your dollars to raise one thousand a wise investment? I don’t think so. But, until you speak up, it will happen again and again.

UMB students are traveling to Indonesia this summer, on your dime. Did you know that? Didn’t think so. Well, your money is sending them there.

Your money throws parties, buys pizzas, funds trips, and you don’t know about any of it. You have no idea.

Your money funds an art gallery to which many of you have never been. It funds this newspaper, two literary magazines, and an honors magazine that sits on the racks unread.

You need to know that you have the ability to hold people accountable. You can come to student senate meetings and make your voice heard. You can write to The Mass Media and tell the world what you think.

Don’t just go through this school blindly. Open your eyes and wake up to the fact that your rising fees are being used all around you and you are not taking advantage of it. Your hard earned cash is being squandered in order for others to have a good time.

You can’t make a difference if you are not heard. So, get your collective heads out of your asses and take control of your own educational experience.