Stasya Hopp | Reporter

Poking fun at students of private schools is often done at the expense of the expenses.

Steep tuition is the reality for many private, even public, schools. The assumption of outsiders is “daddy’s money” will cover the cost.

Baylor is home to a diverse body of students, and while it does attract families with higher income, not everyone is a million-dollar baby. Not even those who are very well off.

Baylor’s COVID-19 emergency relief fund has been flooded with applications. According to Baylor’s COVID-19 Resource website, the President’s Excellence Fund is “directed to help those who are facing great hurdles during this semester due to COVID-19.”

Students whose families pay for their tuition, and those who work to make ends meet and pay for school themselves have received relief. Houston junior Lucas Zemlicka said he received half of the full $1,000 scholarship amount not because he lost a job, but because the virus has prevented him from working at his intended job over the summer.

Another Austin junior said after she received the full scholarship, her parents took the money out of her bank account. She said she lost her job due to the virus, and while she doesn’t pay rent, she is nearly independent from her family and pays other expenses. Since they were paying her rent, she said they decided to put the money from the fund towards that purpose.

COVID-19 is driving students and their family’s to extreme measures just to financially survive. The Baylor family has done its best to help all the students it can.

Some students are in unique situations. Holland, Mich. sophomore Hannah Brashears said she took the 2020 spring semester off as a student and is now in a “sticky situation” due to the uncertainty of classes resuming in the fall.

“I was planning on taking classes over the summer, but Baylor has been so swamped with dealing with COVID-19 that it’s been hard to get on the phone and talk about coming back as a student,” Brashears said.

There is no amount of money that can make the virus go away, but it is certainly helping students stay afloat at Baylor.

“How Baylor is trying to help its students says a lot,” Zemlicka said. “I’m sure there are a lot of people in worse situations than me, but Baylor still found some money to help me out. It’s what makes Baylor, Baylor.”