Fee Increase

[SDHornet]

So this is a few weeks late but I figured I’d comment on this anyways. If you haven’t heard, Pres Gonzales followed suit with SDSU and Fresno State and raised the student fees to pay for athletics and a few other things even though the students voted against the idea. The increase adds $22 per semester onto the ASI fee. Not much for someone who works 40 hours a week. But in this recession, $22 is anywhere from 3-4 meals (maybe more) for students depending on where food is bought.
Now I’m not here to say I disagree with the increase, as I view it as something that needed to be done. My issue comes with the way it was handled dating back to pre-election. Whoever was in charge dropped the ball and got a late push to have this on the ballot so not enough support was raised to get this to pass. Then it was overwhelmingly defeated by the VOTING student body and now Gonzo raises the fee anyways.
My issues are these (in no particular order):
1) Why waste everyone’s time and effort to have it on the ballot in the first place if this was
going to happen regardless of student input?
2) This craps all over the ideology (democracy) of what this country was founded on by going
against the will of the people (students in this case). I know there are stipulations in the Pres’
charter/guidelines/ect where he is allowed to do something like this, but I think it makes him
look VERY BAD.
3) This will create a larger rift between the Pres and the student body for any future projects
that will need funding via fee increases. (LIKE A NEW ARENA!) It provides plenty of foder for
the anti-construction crowd.
4) The state is undoubtedly going to cut education funding in one way or another, so another
increase may be needed sometime in the near future due to a reduction in budget.
5) Us regular folk have to manage our budgets according to what our revenue stream is, why
should the same rules not apply to government entities (Sac State).

Anyone else have any thought about this issue?

http://media.www.statehornet.com/media/storage/paper1146/news/2009/06/24/News/Gonzalez.Approves.Fee.Increases.After.Students.Vote.Them.Down-3749054.shtml

 

[SactoHornetAlum]

You know what...its not a democracy at all in college, no matter what the students think. All those votes are, by statute, are advisory votes only. Im glad Dr. Gonzalez has the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing. The University will be better off for it in the long-run.

 

[SDHornet]

You know what...its not a democracy at all in college, no matter what the students think. All those votes are, by statute, are advisory votes only. Im glad Dr. Gonzalez has the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing. The University will be better off for it in the long-run.

See #1 above.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

The state is going to cut hundreds of millions of $$ from CSU, this fee was absolutely necessary just to maintain what we currently have, it is not for growth. This was not foreseen by Gonzo and the regents at the time of the Referendum vote.

You will also notice that in 2010, 2011 and 2012 we are playing big boy FBS schools. This is an attempt to generate revenue, also known as body bag games. Slim chance of beating Harbaugh/Stanford, Colorado and Arizona State.

What people don't realize is that there is another proposed fee increase that will be enacted by the regents before the fall semester, the amount of tuition increases will be 30%.

Yes, this is not a democracy, it is a college campus. If it was a true democracy for all government institutions then I would elect to pay $1 for my auto renewal, $.50 for my homeowners tax and not pay any gas taxes. There is a reason we have a President who makes these decisions for the betterment of the whole. Gonzo is the only true President that we have had in the past 40+ years. The others, including Gerth, just steered the ship and made no efforts at being anything more than a figurehead on the way to retirement.

I fully support Gonzo's decision to raise the fee. It is my tax dollars that pay to keep the students fees low and subsidized. In the scheme of everything, the amount levied in the fee is miniscule. Plus, charging more adds value to the degree b/c the student had to work harder to earn it.

 

[SDHornet]

One could argue that because you pay more for something, doesn't necessarily mean it's better. Also voting for someone who wants to lower taxes doesn't mean it will actually happen...**cough**Arnie and his vehicle registration fees**cough** :evil: