Student Body President Hogan Medlin verified 3,133 signatures for UCommons on Sunday, placing on Tuesday’s ballot an option to increase student fees for a renovation to the Student Union.
The signatures, which exceeded the required 2,939, were approved amid complaints to the Board of Elections concerning potential campaign violations by UCommons petitioners, including misuse of University computers and posting of campaign materials in prohibited areas.
In order to pass, at least 2.5 percent of the student body must vote, and a majority must vote in favor.
The referendum would allow students to vote on a student fee increase of $8 per semester for the next 30 years in order to fund Phase 2 of UCommons, a project that would give students increased meeting and rehearsal space on the bottom floor and provide a yet-to-be-determined food option. It would also allow parts of the Union to be available 24 hours a day.
Alex Mills, a graduate student and speaker pro tempore of Student Congress, was part of the committee that voted down the referendum in January. The referendum has drawn criticism, primarily from graduate students who say they rarely use the Union.
“Given the level of attention that it’s getting, I haven’t heard a lot of positive attention toward it,” he said.
Phase 1 has already gained approval and funding, said Tyler Mills, president of the Carolina Union Activities Board. Securing student approval for Phase 2 could mean saving money for the University now, rather than spending more later on, he said.
“Construction costs could increase by as much as 30 percent if we don’t start Phase 2 as Phase 1 is ending.”
But Medlin said he was unsure how students would react to seeing another fee next to numerous others that will appear on the ballot.
