Student Leaders Debate Fee Increase

The referendum proposes increasing the student activity fee to $19.50 for all students per semester, up from $11.50 for undergraduates and $9.50 for graduate students.

Finance Committee Chairwoman Natalie Russell said that the referendum was part of a special election last year but that there were not enough total ballots cast to pass the measure.

"The majority of students who voted last year were in favor of it," she said. "I expect that trend to carry over into February's election."

But Student Body Treasurer Michael Vollmer said a surplus in Student Congress' funding makes the referendum unnecessary.

A financial report from Vollmer shows that Student Congress so far has spent $6,500.99 of the $28,765.50 available for the fall semester. It also shows a general surplus of close to $30,000 that has yet to be allocated.

"We shouldn't be asking students to pay more when we can't fully and efficiently utilize our funds."

Ethics Committee Chairman Dan Herman said that when Student Congress declined to fill student groups' requests last year because of insufficient funding, the money accumulated and thus created the surplus.

Herman said the time has come for the fee to increase. "It is lamentable that the fee is so low and hasn't been increased for the past 20 years," he said. "The purchasing power of students has decreased while the number of students has increased."

But increasing the fee undermines students' credibility with the UNC-system Board of Governors when students lobby against tuition increases, Vollmer said.

"The student activity fee is the only fee we have direct control over," he said. "It is hypocritical to increase the fee when we are asking the BOG to not increase tuition."

Vollmer said he is concerned about the effects of a fee hike. "It would start a trend in which the Finance Committee would relax their standards of giving out money," he said. "It would allow groups to spend money on group-specific things, but that is not what the student activity fee is meant to do."

Vollmer also said there is a lack of requests for funds by student groups because of the poor financial situation of the past few years.

"The poor budgetary decisions of the 81st Congress turned away many groups and created a perception that we don't have enough money for funding," he said. "But that problem is no longer an issue, and we now are waiting for groups to come back and ask for money."

But Herman said that student organizations did ask for money but that they were not given any. "There was a parade of people that asked for funds last year and were turned down."

He said increasing the fee would show that students care about their financial needs, not send a message to the BOG tuition that increases are acceptable. "If you are not able to look critically at your own needs, then you will not be heard."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.