The Student Senate Tuition and Fees Committee is inviting students to participate in their meeting tonight in Witherspoon.
Scott Lassiter, chairman of the committee and sophomore in political science, said students’ advice will be used in drafting legislation.
T. Greg Doucette, Student Senate president and senior in computer science, said this meeting will be important to start a dialogue between students and senators.
According to Doucette, the resolution made tonight will be considered at the Student Senate meeting Oct. 3, and there will be special student voting on Oct. 2 and 3 before the meeting.
“This is the first time students have gotten to vote on something like this,” Doucette said.
Doucette said students can take part in a survey, voting on specific legislation and fee increases. He said the actual forms will be available for each referendum, so students can see everything that the senators and administration will see.
While the polls will not directly pass legislation, “it will work to better inform the Senate when we’re making decisions,” Doucette said. The Student Senate will move on its decisions to the University administration after their meeting.
Lassiter said his committee is strongly encouraging students and faculty to come to tonight’s meeting to learn exactly what the average student wants.
According to Lassiter, students are typically most concerned about the fees that directly affect them, such as transportation fees with buses and parking spots and general tuition, but they want input on everything.
“Different students think tuitions and fees are getting out of hand,” he said. Peter Barnes, a first-year member of the committee and freshman in forest management, said he is concerned with rising tuition fees too and wants to limit them as much as possible.
According to Lassiter, students should come to learn about how the committee works and what fees are going to affect them. He said many are concerned where the money goes and what benefits they could get from it.
The Tuition and Fees Committee is a permanent committee, but these kinds of meetings only happen a few times a year, according to Lassiter. He said they want students to know that they care.
“This is the best place to have one-on-one interaction to change the direction of how students will be heard,” he said.