Photo: TikTok
Was it ever that serious?!
By Nia Tipton — Written on Feb 22, 2023
A university student was left shocked after learning that she was at risk of not receiving her college diploma due to an outstanding balance on her school account.
In a TikTok video, Katie Lane, a student at Washington State University, mentions that she received a notice from her school letting her know about the outstanding balance she had that needed to be paid as soon as possible.
While Lane assumed the fee would be high if she was receiving formal notice from her school, her shock quickly turned to disbelief when she saw the exact amount.
Katie Lane says her university threatened to withhold her diploma if she didn't pay her outstanding balance of one cent.
In Lane's video, she explained that she had woken up to an email from Washington State University that immediately alarmed her.
"I woke up to an email from my university's bursar office telling me that there's an outstanding balance on my account and that nonpayment of this can result in late fees as well as registration and/or diploma holds."
After reading the email, Lane immediately began freaking out and called it "terrifying" to know that she needed to make a payment or else there would be serious repercussions.
At first, Lane assumed the balance would be too much for her to pay, but was proven wrong.
"I'm panicking," Lane remarked. "What charge is this? How much is it? I have, like, $90 in my bank account, how am I going to pay this?"
When she went to check her account, the amount wasn't that large at all and was only a single cent.
"Do you not think you could just let this one go?" she questioned in disbelief. "I mean, I guess I'll enroll in a payment plan."
Lane joked that she probably "had a penny laying around" and that it would not be a problem for her to "walk and give it to them in person."
TikTok users were equally flabbergasted at the outstanding amount Lane's university was making her pay.
"[You] should actually give them a penny in person. Email back asking if they accept cash or check payments and bring it in," one user suggested.
Another user added, "My apartment management threatened me with eviction over $0.07. The ridiculousness of capitalism."
"My mom got threatened to be taken to court because she owed her school one cent," a third user chimed in. "She taped a penny to a [piece of] paper and mailed it to them."
A fourth user remarked, "The energy cost to craft, send, transmit, receive, and display that email cost more."
"A payment plan is the only logical thing to do in this economy," a following user joked.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.