Students came out Feb. 27 to vote on the increase of the athletic fee as well as the student services fee. The student service fee passed with a 282- 280 vote and the athletic fee did not because of the 293 opposed versus the 273 that were for it. The close voting outcome could have been a result of the confusion surrounding the referendum. The legislation was open for the entire student body but approximately 7 percent voted.
Josh Grimes, a junior and SGA member, said, “I think the referendum wasn’t fully broadcast to the student body…I would have liked to see the student body be aware of the reasoning behind it.”
The proposed athletic fee would increase from $10/semester credit hour with a cap not to exceed $150 to $12.60/semester credit hour and removal of the cap. The monies derived from this increase would go toward the maintenance of the athletics program in all necessary forms. Another ramification of this particular legislation was to allow the student government to raise this fee up to 5 percent without the consent of the student body through another referendum. This sub point was brought up so that there would be no need to poll the students before minor decisions could be enforced.
The legislation of the student services fee was proposed so that the cap on the fee would increase from $150 to $160 per semester. This fee would also have the possibility of an increase up to 5 percent without the consent of the student body and would require student approval for anything exceeding this amount.
Brad Traywick, SGA chief of staff, wasn’t more concerned with the outcome as he was about the importance of the students’ wishes being granted. He said, “I could be for something but the student body has to be. It’s really what the students want.”
Students had mixed feelings about the referendum. Football player Cedrick Reed admits to being “for the athletic fee increase but against the student fee” due to the lack of knowledge of the reason for the increase.
Many people associated with athletics supported the increase of the athletic fee in particular. Corrina Brown, who is a member of the track and field team was strongly in favor of passing this bill. She stated that “the track is old and worn and it’s hard to run on…not that much different from my high school track. For us to be taken serious …in order for our fan base to increase we need better stuff.”
Some students like Brett Ivey were against the legislation in the referendum being enacted because they felt improvements were unnecessary. “[The money] needs to be applied correctly. I don’t want to raise the fees and the stadium not be built until a long time from now.”
Baseball team captain Kerron Hubbard agreed. “I’m a senior, if I was to get charged for the fees it wouldn’t be effective until years from now. I don’t want to spend extra [money] when I’m not going to see the changes,” said Hubbard.
Past referendums that students will see in the fall include those passed spring of 2008. One issue that passed was to increase the international fee from $1 to $3 per semester.
Another issue that passed was the elimination of the sunset clause. The sunset clause was enacted on a 10-year trial basis. The details of this clause were that each student would pay a $150 athletics fee and if the clause was not voted on to remain a part of the student’s fee it would then automatically be abolished. This was put into place so that the future student body would have a choice of whether they wanted to continue to pay this fee or deem it unnecessary.