April is fast approaching, and that means it’s almost time for spring elections.
SGA adviser Laura Knotts said that the Student Activity Enhancement Fee is being put forward because budget cuts don’t appear to ease up anytime soon. ULM is expecting a significant cut in the fall, as well as an enrollment drop, according to Knotts.
In the fall, Louisiana’s four-year universities will no longer offer remedial courses. Any students who need to take a remedial course will have to spend a year at a community college. The enrollment drop takes away from the money that ULM receives from student fees.
“The administration has already given us a heads up on it,” Knotts said. “We have tried really hard to not cut back on anything for student life. But we will have to consolidate. This would actually help protect some of student life, especially student groups. It would give them some recourse when they want to go to conferences or competitions or put on programming.”
The referendums from the past few years were also put in place to help aid ULM from budget cuts. The Student Support Fee was a temporary referendum established in 2009 of $95 for fall and spring term, and $50 for summer term.
“[The Student Support Fee] had a three year expiration date on it, because at the time we thought that the budget cuts were going to be a short term thing,” Knotts said. “We were under the impression that it was going to get better soon. But when it came time for that referendum to expire, things were actually much worse.”
According to Knotts, the referendum was being spent on keeping jobs in the Student Life Office, the SSC, and a lot of different areas on campus had salaries paid out of the referendum.
SGA President Calvin Stafford said the idea for the Student Activity Enhancement Fee came from himself. Through La Council of Student Body Presidents, Stafford noticed other SGA presidents complaining about their universities not having much money to support student groups.
“I looked at ways I could help our university,” said Stafford. “I talked to Nathan Hall about ways I could avoid this and I came up with this idea. It came from me thinking about how I could impact our student body. Then I brought it to the officers.”
Stafford said the idea from last semester for a $20 increase for VAPA and athletics was just “brainstorming.”
Freshman biology major Amanda Hikes ran for senate last semester. When she didn’t make it, she decided to work in the SGA office so she could still be close to the excitement. Hikes said people should consider the pros and cons before voting and not just look at one side.
“College is expensive enough already. The SGA shouldn’t be trying to solve problems by passing a referendum that is going to add to the amount we already have to pay,” Hikes said. “But when it comes down to it, it’s a great way to get more money for student organizations.”
Questions regarding which specific fees under the Student Assessed Fee would be consolidated, as well as who would be deciding where the money goes, were not answered by SGA before print time.
The Student Activity Enhancement Fee is a $120 fee that consolidates 18 fees under the Student Assessed Fee and adds $60 to help support student activities.
