The Auburn Student Senate on Monday approved a bill authorizing a student body referendum to determine whether Student Activity Fees should be increased.
Treasurer James Beauchaine gave a presentation on last week’s proposal to include a referendum on student activity fee increases on the next SGA election ballot, citing inflation and increases in university salaries as a reason to pass the resolution.
“The last fee increase was in 2006," Beauchaine said. "The fee was increased [from $26] over a series of nine years, to the current fee that we pay of $45. Since that time, we’ve seen salaries and benefits rise by about six percent a year over that span of nine years.”
The bill authorizes a referendum on next week's SGA election ballot. Students will be able to vote "yes" or "no" on whether to increase the Student Activity Fee from $45 to $54 next fall and then by $3 per semester until 2023. The fee increase will also need approval from University administrators and the Board of Trustees.
"The main thing to point out is that voting on this bill is giving students the opportunity to vote yes or no to passing a Student Activity Fee increase," Beauchaine said. "We're putting in the hands of the students to hear their voice."
The bill passed with a unanimous voice vote.
The Student Activity Fee supports the University's five Student Activity Portfolios — Leadership and Service, Student Governance, Student Media, Student Programming and Student Organizations. SGA, UPC, BSU, the Organizations Board, EagleEye and the Glomerata, among others, receive money from the Student Activity Fees.
The $45 Student Activity Fee fee makes up a portion of the total $880 semesterly Student Services Fee. Other parts of the fee go to fund dining, transportation, student health and other initiatives on campus.
Beauchaine said the increase is needed to continue operating the SAPs, including the 500 student organizations that receive funding from the Organizations Board, and to continue paying the staff that works in the Student Involvement Office. Inflation in costs in the Student Activity Fund, to the tune of 20 percent over the last three years, have cost $70,000 and depleted the fund's reserves.
The increase would also fund, within the first several years, a $1 million renovation of the Student Activity Center and the purchase of a $500,000 liability insurance package intended to protect students in the 500 student organizations operated under the Student Organizations SAP.
Even with the increase, Auburn will remain below the benchmark set by other SEC schools, Beauchaine said.
According to data presented by the SGA, the average SEC Student Activity Fee is $119 per semester, and the median is $76 per semester. The highest fee in the SEC is $289 per semester at Vanderbilt, and the lowest fee is $2.64 at the University of Arkansas.
SGA also passed a resolution supporting the construction of LEED-certified buildings on campus in the future.
Mike Kensler, director of Auburn’s Office of Sustainability, took some time to endorse the LEED resolution before the vote during open-floor time.
“The whole point of LEED … is to accomplish two things: to build buildings that are responsibly built … and to promote human health,” Kensler said. “A study cited in this resolution … shows a stunning increase in the cognitive ability and well-being of people who work in green-certified buildings.”
The resolution passed by a unanimous vote.
On Monday, the SGA Senate also:
- passed a funding request allocating $4,000 in extra funding to the Black Student Union. The funding will allow BSU to bring educator and anti-racism advocate Jane Elliot to campus as part of BSU's Black History Semester Speaker Series.
- passed a bill that updated some language affecting the appointment of faculty to the Academic Honesty Committee.
- passed a bill to authorize a referendum to decide the speaker for the Final Lecture later this semester.
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