Silence.

That has been the theme within the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and the university administration during this financial aid crisis, in which thousands of students are still waiting to receive money for tuition and living expenses.

Students have been forced to wait for hours in hopes of collecting much needed funds. Some have even been told to go home empty-handed and uninformed.

If this situation continues, some students will be unable to pay rent or buy groceries. If students cannot afford to live in Pullman, it is only logical they may have to move back home. For many, moving would mean dropping out.

According to an anonymous source with ties to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, the office has been receiving roughly 800 calls a day.

In response to the students’ plight, the administration has provided students with ice cream, coffee and cookies.

University officials have not been fully transparent. Even worse, they seem uninformed, ill-prepared and flustered in their handling of this incident.

Earlier, in an interview with President Elson S. Floyd, the president told reporters the number of people seeking finances has not changed, and the amount of money being distributed is the same as last year.

However, if no additional burden has been added, then the reason behind the school's struggle to distribute financial aid to students seems unclear.

We do know that part of the problem lies with the Zzusis system. The finance section, which officially went up on June 30, has been running a beta version with kinks that have been fixed as they’re discovered by students.

Basically, our financial future is on a precipice because we are being used as guinea pigs to test a faulty website.

But, when asked how this directly relates to distributing finances to students, administrators provide inadequate responses.

Another reason for the delay in financial aid distribution may be the huge freshman class, which mirrors the size of last year's. Yet, the financial aid office seems unprepared for the large influx, even though employees must be fully aware of enrollment numbers.

In the end, the students face an egregious failure by the university to provide funds in what should be a routine operation.

The university has been gambling with people’s lives, and the student body is frustrated, confused and upset in the face of its unresponsive university administration. Though we know the administration is not uncaring, it has failed to appropriately handle the situation with clear communication and poise.