Student Senate votes on 2011-2012 Fee Referendum Bill

 

Student Senate proposed a $108.96 fee increase for the 2011-2012 school year.  This bill passed with a vote of 31 for and 8 against, with 2 senators abstaining and 8 absent from the meeting. 

The Fee Referendum Bill included requested fees from departments on campus.  These departments include Athletics, Campus Recreation, Student Center operations, Student Health, Student Legal Services and Transportation.

Combined, the six departments requested a fee increase of $86.90.  The committee recommended increases totaling $55.69.

Because of amendments to the bill, Student Senate ended up recommending a total fee increase of $55.41, not including the second phase of the Talley Student Center second step.

According to Student Senate President Stephen Kouba, the total fee increase is presented as a package recommendation.

“The fee committee itself is not interested in looking at different bills,” Kouba said.  “Each senator is welcome to amend any of these amounts.  The recommendation can only be as high as the department originally requested.”

Before debate and amendments began, senators said they were concerned with whether the money each of the six departments received from student fees.  Thomas Stafford, vice-chancellor of student affairs was able to answer this question.

“The best way for you to answer [if each department used the money from last year as they said they would] would be for the Tuition and Fees Committee to look at how the fees were used for the 2010-2011 school year,” Stafford said.

According to Senator Patrick Devore, the survey Student Government conducted did not receive enough student input to use that in making the decisions for the bill.

“The survey had 148 respondents.  Only four-tenths of a percent of the student population voted, rendering it unusable,” Devore said.

Senator Ethan Harrelson, said he doesn’t like fee increases, but he still supported the resolution.

“I don’t think anyone in this room likes fee increases.  With this bill we’re able to say this is where students want their money to go.  I can’t think of anything Patrick [Devore] has brought up that is debatable.  Let’s forget the economic times and think about the expansion of our University.  I support this bill,” Harrelson said.

Every department gave the Senate a line-by-line division of what the money they were requesting was to go for, except athletics.

According to Devore, the sponsor of the resolution, since athletics didn’t give the division, the committee chose to recommend $25.  After debates in during the Student Senate meeting, the decision was made to decrease that recommendation to $20.

The overall longest debate over an amendment to the original resolution occurred over Senator Devore’s amendment to increase the recommendation for Student Heath Services fee from $6.72 to $11, only $1 less than the requested amount.

“It was $6.72 from the committee last night,” Devore said.  “[Student Health Services] need $11 to cover the new professionals.  If they don’t get this, they will have to dip further into their reserve, which is unhealthy for students.

Part of the $12 Student Health Services requested was intended to go to adding three new medical professionals and also to help mitigate Student Health’s expansion. 

Senator Tucker Beeninga said he did not see the purpose of adding three new positions.

“We are in tough economic times and it doesn’t make sense to be adding new positions,” Beeninga said.  “The average wait time is presented as being 30 minutes.  The building will get used, the wait time might be a little longer.”

In the end, during the overall debate for the bill, senators were discussing the lack of student votes. 

“It doesn’t matter if only 148 students voted, because we represent all 33,000 students,” Harrelson said.