After a lengthy, debate-filled session, student senators of ASUW passed recommendations for mandatory students fees for the 2020-2021 school year, amending out additional built-in fees and services for part-time students.
The resolution to recommend small-to-substantial increases to mandatory student fees was the subject of extensive discussion. Ultimately, the total proposed increase to student fees came to 2.23 percent, and did not include expanding Consolidated Student services (CSS) fees to part-time students, which would have increased CSS fees for those students to match the full-time fee of $413.09.
Currently and going forward, full-time students pay full fees for services such as Half-Acre Gym membership and Student Health Services, while part-time students pay smaller, per-credit-hour CSS fees for limited access. For example, these fees do not include Half-Acre access, though students have the option to pay $117.60 to opt in for a semester.
College of Arts and Sciences senator Reesie Lane stated that applying full, mandatory CSS fees to part-time students would hit them proportionately harder than other students.
“Asking them to pay an extra $500 could eliminate their chances of coming to this institution,” Lane said. “I think that’s the exact opposite direction that UW wants to be headed in. Students who are part-time students typically don’t have as much money, that’s why they don’t come full-time.”
College of Business senator Qawi Rahmaan spoke on behalf of such students, saying he doesn’t have the time to use services such as Half-Acre and wouldn’t benefit from being charged additional fees for access to them.
“With me being a non-traditional student and a working adult, I find it hard to pay my own fees,” Rahmaan said. “Without having scholarships available—just being an average student trying to include rent makes it difficult to attend all the services that the school provides. Even with all the fees I pay, I don’t even have access to all that because the workload takes all the time.”
Other significant legislation included the expansion of ex-officio membership rights to increase representation of the UW community and the approval of several special projects to benefit the campus.
Special projects are “one-time projects that will benefit a large population [of students] for several years,” according to the ASUW Finance Policy.
The projects approved include new bike racks across campus, new equipment for the Campus Recreation Department/Outdoor Program, expanding the student garden plot program and the creation of a “Fix it space” in the Coe Student Innovation Center to teach students how to repair and maintain various appliances and devices.
A proposal to include a mass-quantity industrial paper shredder to accommodate student demand for increased recycling options was voted down, with Arts and Sciences senator Derrik Conard stating that the project didn’t have a place in the Finance Policy and was ineligible for funding from the Special Endowments Fund, which is intended for more direct student benefit.
“This ultimately was a good idea, and is a good idea, but at the same point we can’t fund it with this specific pot of money,” Conard said. “B and P wants to fund this as much as possible—it cannot come from the Special Projects, it needs to come from something else.”
A proposal to install several new water fountains in Downey Hall was also amended out for similar reasons, but Vice President of Student Affairs Sean Blackburn stated that alternative funding could come from other sources such as Residence Life and Dining to move that project forward.
Some discussion focused on a bill to alter the Recognized Student Organization funding policy by expanding funding opportunities for RSOs but was tabled until next semester to allow for additional fine-tuning and discussion.
