Fee proposal gets trustees' interest

Despite already being struck down twice this week, a proposal to increase the student athletics fee sparked interest in the Board of Trustees’ University Affairs Committee meeting Wednesday.

After almost an hour of discussion, committee members decided to further explore the issue during today’s full board meeting.

“We find this intriguing and something we need to pursue collaboratively with (the) affairs and finance committees,” said Trustee Rusty Carter, chairman of the committee.

Currently, 25 percent of revenue from merchandise that bears the University’s trademark goes to fund athletics. The plan, devised by Chairwoman of the Faculty Judith Wegner, would put that money toward merit-based scholarships and add $50 in student athletic fees to replace the funding.

Both athletics and merit scholarships, officials say, are suffering from a lack of funds.

Carter commended Wegner’s efforts to develop a plan addressing both issues.

“I really appreciate your creating some linkage,” he said. “I think it has real merit.”

But others did not express Carter’s sentiment.

“By linking them together, you’re asking graduate students to pay for merit scholarships for undergraduates,” said Margaret Jablonski, vice chancellor for student affairs.

Student Body Treasurer Natalie Russell voiced her skepticism of the proposal for a third day in a row. She also is a member of the Student Fee Audit Committee and the Chancellor’s Committee on Student Fees, two groups that rejected the plan this week.

“We don’t know if this is the only solution or if it’s the best solution,” Russell said. “It’s important to look for other ways to raise money for merit scholarships.”

Russell said that proposals should have been presented to the audit committee last semester and that the late development of the plan was inappropriate.

Wegner presented her original plan to the audit committee Monday, calling for a $150 athletic fee hike.

The proposal was later reduced to a $50 fee increase per student.

Because Wegner’s plan was presented the same week as the trustee meetings, Russell said student officials didn’t have enough time to thoroughly explore all of its details.

Carter acknowledged the concerns but also pointed out that merit scholarships and athletic fees are topics that often have been overlooked in the past.

“It’s the easiest thing to take off the needs list every year,” he said.

“If we’re going to continue to address tuition, we have no choice but to address these issues.”

Carter said these topics have been points of interest since before he joined the BOT four years ago. He said he hopes it doesn’t take four more years to make a decision.

“Sooner or later we have to divide the baby and make something happen,” Carter said.

“There are lots of opportunities here.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.