While members of last year’s Associated Students Executive Board celebrated the successful passage of their proposed $10 student activity fee, other students on campus are still uncertain as to what the fee encompasses, and how it will benefit them.A main concern is that the fee is required at registration, as well as the price of the fee itself. The cost is $10 per regular semester, and $5 during the intersessions; regardless of full-time or part-time status.
Students may fill out a form to receive a refund at the Student Bank, but many say it is a potential hassle.
Samantha Yi, a biology major, said $10 is a lot of money, regardless of the state of the economy.
“I don’t really participate in any of the student activities and am not on campus for any reason other than classes anyway,” she said. “I could support paying more money if it meant classes are easier to get into, but not for a bunch of general student-related services that nobody takes part in.”
Undeclared major Victor Ruiz agreed: “None of my friends are involved in the clubs, and I don’t like the idea that you have to pay for it first and if you want a refund, go out of your way to get it.”
In addition to club funding, the money collected from the activity fee would also support a variety of other student services, such as funding for library textbooks and the Social Sciences lab-as well as finance coursework-related field trips, such as those provided to geology and biology classes.
The $10 fee goes into the Student Services Fund, whose board will allocate money to constituent groups based on requests. As more money is collected into the SSF, several AS officers said, the number of requests that can potentially be fulfilled goes up, and services traditionally offered to students no longer have to be cut due to a shortage in funding.
Despite some misgivings about the role the fee will play, other students see it as a bright spot that will eventually give back to them in terms of services and resources offered.
Christine Pearson, an English major, said she is hopeful of what the activity fee can provide.
“I’m always at the library,” she said, “and I really don’t mind paying $10 a semester if I can utilize what they offer on campus.”
Said English major Jennifer Haynes, “If there’s one thing I don’t mind paying for, it’s my education and anything that may help me along the way.
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