Dive Brief:

• Some students at Montclair State University aren’t thrilled with its plans to spend around $210,000 on a 12-foot bronze statue of its red-tailed hawk mascot.
• University administrators say the statue will be a symbol of courage and determination and help to raise school spirit, the Bergen Record reported.
• Tuition and fees for Montclair and other New Jersey public colleges and universities are an average of 40% higher than the national average.

Dive Insight:

The newspaper quotes one student’s alternative ideas for raising school spirit: Lowering tuition, creating more parking spots for the mostly commuter university, and, in the case of administrators, truly listening to students. The Student Government Association, which is funded by student fees, will pay $100,000 toward the sculpture, with the university paying the rest. Private donations for the project total about $4,000. The university had approved as much as $225,000 for the statue.