As the weather begins to warm, the squirrels are coming out of hibernation. They can often be found foraging for nuts, seeds and berries in bushes and trees, running along the sidewalks, rummaging through trashcans and most recently, standing in line in the office of financial aid.
Recent developments have resulted in the Elizabethtown College campus squirrels paying tuition. This decision was not taken lightly and the squirrels are protesting.
In an attempt to reverse the decision, the squirrels have formed a new club: Squirrels Against Tuition.
Since they have begun paying tuition, it is their right as members of the institution to form this club. They have formed a grassroots lobbying organization in an attempt to revoke this requirement.
However, they needed a faculty advisor to make their group official. In hopes of making real change, they approached assistant professor of political science, Dr. Nathan Gibson, due to his history in public policy studies.
Gibson was happy to take on the role and is working hard to help the squirrels organize.
“I am strongly in support of the squirrels’ cause because they do not receive the same education as the human students at the college,” Gibson said. “Until I see squirrels sitting in my classroom, I do not believe they should be subject to tuition.”
After attending a meeting, I was able to discern this is the main concern of the squirrels. They do not receive the same resources and opportunities as the students of Etown. They were a bit difficult to understand, but their presentation comparing acorns to the dining hall, and trees to ILUs made it pretty clear they were angry about the unequal treatment.
I reached out but the squirrels refused to comment, only responding with a bark before running away.
Their presentation was in a mix of English and squirrel language, I have summarized what’s possible.
The squirrels are angry as they do not receive equal accommodations. They are not welcome in the dorm buildings or any buildings that serve food due to public health risks. They do not receive housing but are still required to pay the costs due to Etown’s housing contract. They are not receiving an education as the professors cannot communicate with them. The technology to translate English to squirrel language is not yet available.
Some of the squirrels have decided to comply and not join the movement. Gibson has some ideas to encourage the others to join the squirrel revolution.
“Like any grassroots organization, the first challenge for the squirrels is to overcome collective action problems,” Gibson said. “In general, this means they need to reduce the costs of participating in the group while increasing the costs of non-participation, to reduce the appeal of free riding on the efforts of the activist squirrels. One way the group can do this is to create excludable benefits, such as free acorns for any squirrel who shows up to an event, or social sanctions, on the other hand, such as excluding a non-participating squirrel from a shared drey [nest] during the winter.”
If you believe in their cause and wish to join the squirrels’ fight against tuition, consider joining the club. Meetings are held under the trees in the Dell on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. and there is a club fee of four acorns. For more information, email squirrelsagainsttuition@etown.edu.
