More than 5,000 students are now working on campus — up from 3,600 just two years ago. This increase is in part due to Baylor’s addition of a standalone student employment department, which oversees all student jobs on campus and provides one-on-one consultations for students seeking on-campus job opportunities.

The FitPass might feel like just another Baylor money-grab, but behind the price tag are student instructors who give their time, energy and passion to keep campus active.

The argument could be made that since Texas’ minimum wage is $7.25 per hour — which is the same as the federal minimum wage which was set in 2009 — Baylor is paying its student employees a reasonable amount. Except we’re no longer in 2009. It’s 2025, meaning Baylor students are dealing with over a decade-long inflation rise. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.48% per year between 2009 and now, producing a cumulative price increase of 48.07%. This means today’s prices are 1.48 times as high as average prices since 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index.