LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

FAU wants to become a traditional university, and 2010 proved that the endeavor isn’t easy — or cheap.

On one hand, we finally broke ground on a nearly $70 million football stadium. On the other hand, the football team had a pretty awful 4-8 season.

We brought some pretty big names to campus, like the Dalai Lama and Ludacris. But Ludacris cost $75,000 — which came out of student fees — and then canceled his initial appearance.

FAU got a new president with a great smile and personality. But she started her first day in what seemed to be a violation of the Sunshine Law, according to lawyers.

At the end of 2009, a hazing incident landed a student in the hospital. But at the beginning of 2010, FAU suspended the offending fraternity for a year.

And 2011 brings with it the completion of the Innovation Village Apartments, FAU’s newest and most expensive housing complex — it’ll cost students around $5,000 a semester to live there.

So, it’s safe to say that our tradition comes with a weighty price tag, and we the students will be covering the tab — remember our tuition was raised by 15 percent in 2010, too.