One vote prevents raised activity fee
By Erin LaRuffa
Associate News Editor
The Student Senate rejected by a vote of 14 to 13 a resolution to increase the student activities fee.
The vote between the 26 senators ended in a 13-13 tie. The tie meant that student body vice president Brian Moscona, who chairs the senate, had to vote. In voting against the resolution, Moscona said that he wanted a senate committee to look into the issue further to settle questions several senators had raised. The senate can then revote on the resolution, or an amended version of it.
The resolution called for an initial increase of $10, which would bring the fee to $75 for the 2002-2003 school year. The resolution would also have called for the fee to increase by $5 every two years until it reached $100. If the senate had passed the resolution, it would not have gone into effect but instead would have moved onto the Campus Life Council for further consideration.
The senate originally discussed the resolution at its meeting on Feb. 6, but senators tabled the motion so that they could get feedback from their hall councils.
"I talked it over with my dorm, and most of the guys É would rather increase it on a [year by year] basis," said Fisher senator Greg Celio. He added that the students he discussed the resolution with would also prefer to see campus organizations allocated less money so that a club would have to improve its programming in order to receive more funds.
Cavanaugh senator Lindsay Zika agreed, explaining that students at her hall council had a similar reaction as Fisher hall council members did.
"They felt that this school too often raises money to solve problems," Zika said.
Off-campus senator Matthew Smith added that he could not support raising the fee when the University refused to fund a group like OUTReachND.
However, the Financial Management Board's Audra Hagan, who submitted the resolution to the senate, stressed that because of inflation, the activities fee needed to go up so that campus groups could maintain their level of programming.
"People are always asking us to do better. It's to do better when you're constantly slipping backward," said Hagan. "Every year, the student activities fee becomes less and less able to provide for us."
Student Union secretary Tai Romero agreed that passing the resolution was important.
"Seventy-five percent of us will participate in some club, and that's just clubs," Romero said. "We all participate, and I'm sure we're getting more than our $65."
Saint Mary's representative Erin Casey added that students at the College pay a much higher fee.
"Sixty-five dollars to me doesn't seem like that much when I pay $150," she said. "You're gaining so much from student government, and you're giving them the power to do more for you."
In other news:
The senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for increased student representation on the Academic Council. The resolution will now go to the University's Student Affairs committee for additional consideration.
The senate unanimously confirmed Andrew Oxenreiter as Student Union Treasurer.
All News Stories for Thursday, February 14, 2002
