Amid rising costs for student groups and complaints about budget cuts, Drew Madden '10, student activities chair for the Undergraduate Council of Students, proposed to petition the University Resources Committee for a $54 increase in the student activities fee that would bring the total fee to $200 per student.
The increase in the fee is necessary to account for rising costs to student groups, Madden said at the UCS general body meeting last night. "Costs have gone up over the past five years ... because all these costs are going up, if their baseline funding is staying the same, then they're unable to do what they need to do," he said.
On Monday, Madden told The Herald he planned to propose an increase between $20 and $30. The proposed number rose because the Student Activities Committee felt that amount would be an insufficient increase due to rising costs, Madden said. "My committee decided that they felt a greater increase was necessary and there were more items that needed to be funded by (the Undergraduate Finance Board), so they felt it wasn't an exorbitant amount of money to ask for," he said Wednesday night.
A more expensive Media Services contract, a greater number of categorized groups vying for the same funding pool and the effects of inflation have all led to rising costs, Madden said. "The 20 to 30 (dollar increase) would only cover an increase in the (Media) Services contract and would not even keep pace with the increase in groups," he said. "We really do need a $54 increase, and (the committee decided) that we do want to push as hard as we can for the 54."
The committee chose $54 because it will make the fee $100 per semester and $200 for the full year. "It's an easier number than $192 or something," said Madden. "We figured once we got up to the $50 range we would just try to make it more even."
Though the proposal has not yet been finalized, Madden said his committee has discussed using the additional funds to increase baseline funding given to Category II groups from $90 per semester to a target of $120. The committee is also considering giving an initial, one-time $100 stipend to Category I groups to help them start up.
The student activities fee debate has become an annual UCS event. Last fall, a proposed increase of $13 failed by one vote to reach the two-thirds majority necessary for it to pass. Madden said the fee increase failed to pass last year largely due to the rushed nature of the process. The increase was proposed right before Thanksgiving, giving the council very little time to debate and vote on whether they approved the increase or not, Madden said.
In 2005, UCS approved a $54 increase in the fee, but the Corporation instead increased it by $10 after the University decided to make the Department of Athletics responsible for funding club sports.
This year, Madden said, he plans to provide UCS and the student body with an opportunity to consider, discuss and debate the proposed increase. Rather than consider the proposal at next week's meeting, which falls on Halloween, UCS will vote on the increase at its Nov. 7 general body meeting.
