ASCSU approves student fees

Associated Students of CSU approved the recommended 2004-2005

student fee package on emergency status Wednesday night.

In the package student fees for the 2004-2005 academic year will

rise $6.91 per student. The recommended increase will be reviewed

by the Board of Governors of the CSU System, the CSU Executive

Budget Council and Linda Kuk, vice president for Student

Affairs.

These increases have been reviewed and endorsed by the Student

Fee Review Board.

“SFRB worked extremely hard listening to budget presentations

from all the fee areas,” said Ashly Nickel, a senator for the

graduate school. “They really put a lot of effort into these

decisions.”

Several fee-funded organizations on campus have asked for an

increase in their funding. Among these are Campus Recreation,

Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct Services, Hartshorn Health

Services, the Lory Student Center and The School of the Arts

Advisory Council.

The Rocky Mountain Raptor Program took a decrease in student

fees, and had agreed to a three-year phase out plan. SFRB believed

that the Raptor Program was not effectively using allocated student

fee dollars and did not have enough potential for direct student

involvement, Nickel said.

“SFRB came to the conclusion that our fees probably were not

being spent as positively as we would have liked them to have

been,” she said. “They’re doing some things to gain funding support

from the city.”

Much debate centered around the addition of a $5 student fee for

those enrolled in summer classes to help fund the summer theatre

program. This program recently received a $17,000 cut to its

budget.

“In order for this program to remain functioning and performing,

we need to create this fee,” Nickel said.

Britta Schroeder, a senator from the College of Natural

Sciences, disagreed.

“I completely oppose the $5 increase,” Schroeder said. “I just

don’t think they’re sticking to the rules. I think this is very,

very wrong.”

Schroeder was concerned that programs with similar needs had not

gotten the funding they needed to stay alive in the past.

“I don’t think ASCSU is being fair,” Schroeder said. “I think

they toss around our fees like whatever.”

Summer theatre participants came to voice their support for the

program.

“I really feel, and so do the rest of us in the Department of

Music, Theatre and Dance, that this would really benefit the

students very much,” said Caroline Bryan, a senior art student and

participant in the summer theatre program. “We get a lot of

community support. They’d like to see it continue and so would

we.”

Marisa Adelman, a senator for the College of Natural Sciences,

thought the fact that they made a presence at the senate meeting

was enough to warrant them consideration.

“That type of involvement in this program really speaks to the

success of this program,” Adelman said. “I think that they have

been successful and proven themselves very well and we should

continue to support them.”

Some members of ASCSU agreed.

“Liberal arts is the biggest college on campus, yet probably

receives the least money per student,” said Maria Bennet, a senator

for the College of Liberal Arts. “This student fee money would be

an appropriate use.”