Correction (Feb. 11 12:54 a.m.): Due to a reporting error, this story is incorrect. Although Board of Elections Chairman Pete Gillooly stated Tuesday that all three passed, the $6 student organizations fee increase did not pass. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for this error.
With the passage of three fee referendums in Tuesday’s election, students will be out an extra $6.92 next year.
The approved increase will add to the Student Organizations fee, the Student Legal Services fee and the Safety and Security fee.
The activity fee will increase $6, by far the largest of the three. It will be used to help student organizations operate and bring speakers and concerts to campus.
Fee Increases
Students approved three student fee increases for the 2010-11 school year.
Student Organizations Fee
Increase: $6 / New fee total: $45
Description: This fee goes to fund many student groups. The increase is mainly to account for inflation since the last fee increases.
Student Legal Services Fee
Increase: 85 cents / New fee: $13.85
Description: This fee would help cover the increase in accounting and auditing costs of services.
Safety and Security Fee
Increase: 7 cents / New fee: $2.27
Description: Helps fund SafeWalk and other programs to increase safety and awareness on campus. The increase is mainly to account for inflation since the last fee increases.
Student Congress is in charge of distributing the money raised by the fee, which will increase from $39 to $45 per student.
At 85 cents, the legal services fee will be the second-highest raise. This is mainly to help erase a budget deficit, deal with new Internal Revenue Service regulations and make up for a voluntary 5 percent staff salary furlough. The group provides legal services and advice to students. The $13 fee is now raised to $13.85.
Students voted to increase the safety fee by 7 cents, to $2.27. The raise will primarily account for inflation. The fee pays for medical bills of sexual assault victims and funds campus safety features such as the blue lights system.
While the referendums passed by decisive majorities, not all students were in favor of the increase. Jason Sutton, president of the Committee for a Better Carolina, which is associated with several conservative campus groups, asked candidates for all offices to sign a pledge to “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase student fees for the 2010-11 fiscal year.”
Sutton said his experience as a Congress representative last year contributed to his view that the fee increases are unnecessary.
