If you’re going to rape our wallets, at least use the money wisely.

That’s our message to the Illinois Board of Higher Education, who recommended a 4 percent tuition increase last week.

IBHE gave the usual arguments for a tuition increase—keeping up with the rate of inflation, little chance of increased state funding and the need for teacher salary increases.

These may all be valid reasons. After all, tuition jumped 5 percent last year but did not increase the three previous years.

But let’s hope NIU uses the money to directly benefit the students. Anything else would be a disgrace to higher education.

Of course teacher salaries should be raised. But there is little logic in claiming teachers’ salaries should be raised to keep them here because their salaries are already behind most other states’. If they were going to leave over money they would have already done so.

No, this hike, which is inevitable, should be used to directly benefit the students. More classes should be added, student services improved and the level of instruction raised.

Too much folly goes on at NIU in the form of bureaucratic bloat, soaring administrative costs and costly projects such as the Student Life Building.

In dealing with this pocketbook rape, administrators should remember the old adage—”No never means yes.”