Seniors, I’ve got bad news: We just slept through $15,963.

It was easy to do. Every winter, as midterms are piling on thicker than downtown Evanston sludge, we’ve slept through the same boring announcement: “Next year’s tuition will be 4-point-whatever percent higher than this year’s. Thank you for choosing Northwestern.” And each time, we were thinking, “Isn’t tuition like already a million dollars or something? What’s 4.9 percent of a million? Oh yeah, who cares?” And we went back to sleep.

So for those of you who never woke up, and those of you who missed it, here’s a quick recap of the fleecing of ’02. It’s worth reading, even if you hate seniors, because it’s also happening to everyone else right now:

When the members of my class were but wee accepted students pledging to attend NU back in the winter and spring of 1997-98, undergraduate tuition was $19,152. That’s $6,074 less in 2002 dollars than next year’s tuition when you adjust for inflation. What, you didn’t know NU used to be considered a bargain school?

Then we got our welcome gifts: A window decal with a blurry picture of the Lagoon, a new name for the College of Arts and Sciences and a 16.9 percent tuition hike. We learned that for each of the next three years, the Class of 2002 would pay 10.6 percent more than all classes older than us, as returning students were slapped with only a 5.7 percent increase. Both increases were done in the name of Campaign Northwestern.

Now, 16.9 percent is a big jump, but it’s nothing compared to what happened next. Those boring 4.9, 4.9 and 4.8 percent increases since 1999 compounded into one big 15.3 percent increase. All in all, this year’s tuition is 34.9 percent higher than the tuition we thought we’d be paying when we applied. Next year’s is 42.1 percent higher than those 1997-98 rates.

Or look at it this way. Four years of 1997-98 tuition would have been $84,531 in 2002 dollars. But my class actually paid $100,494. The difference? You guessed it: $15,963.

Still sleepy?

That’s three years of in-state tuition to the University of Illinois. Or a nice car. And that’s only the difference.

Awake yet? If the increases continue at 4.9 percent, the Class of 2005 will have paid $111,525 by graduation: $15,130 more than my class; $28,605 more than the Class of 2001. That money would have paid through Fall Quarter of your sophomore year at the 1997-98 levels. Instead, it got you to the first day of New Student Week. Go Cats.

So how did we forget to care?

Well, the Rebecca Crown spin machine helped. For one thing, in every press release since my senior year of high school, the administration has pointed out how our rapidly inflating bill compares to those at other schools. The paragraph goes like this:

“NU’s total costs continue to be below the average for major private research universities. Among a group of (x) similar institutions that include (names of schools), NU’s total costs are (blank) less than the average costs of those other institutions.”

Sounds good, but our space below that floating average keeps shrinking. In 1998, we were $3,500 under. In 2000, it was down to $1,000. And now? $600.

But don’t worry about hitting the mean anytime soon: Your friends at those peer institutions may be getting drained just as quickly.

Maybe there’s a reason we were billed $15,963 above inflation over four years. Maybe financial aid has kept pace for those who qualify. Maybe we’re reaping the benefits of soaring operating costs. Maybe the bursar knows best, and who are we lowly students to question the judgment for which we pay so much? So, so, so, so much?

But the question is: Do you know why your tuition went up $15,963?

If not, why don’t you? And to those of you who will be here past June: Don’t sleep through a tuition increase again.