In this case, over 3 percent in tuition growth is no easy adjustment. These are people already making significant financial sacrifices to send their children to college, and Harvard continues to squeeze these individuals for more money, leaving them waiting to qualify for aid themselves.

Granted, tuition growth is not easy to solve, and it’s not just Harvard’s problem. It’s a national epidemic, with tuition rising at six times the rate of inflation per one estimate.

But Harvard is in a unique position to change its own course. Harvard has a $37.6 billion endowment, the interest of which alone could fund every undergraduate’s education in full.

With regards to the “Free Harvard, Fair Harvard” campaign, the University quickly reminded everyone that the endowment is not the free-for-all bank account that we like to imagine. Said University spokesperson Jeff Neal: “In reality, Harvard’s flexibility in spending from the endowment is limited by the fact that it must be maintained in perpetuity and that it is largely restricted by the explicit wishes of those who contributed the endowed funds.”

Yet there is a large difference between seeking free tuition and an end, or at least a slowdown, to tuition’s growth. If Harvard has good faith and rightly perceives its long-term interests, it should look to rein in tuition.

Until then, we students can expect an announcement soon about tuition hikes for next year.

Aaron J. Miller ’18, a Crimson editorial executive, is a government concentrator in Currier House.