A campus organization wants to raise CSU student fees by $6 million to fund more construction but is meeting opposition from a student senator proposing to cap it at $175,000 instead.
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The University Facility Fee Advisory Board (UFFAB) is planning to propose a fee increase to the Student Fee Review Board that would result in a $7.98 per-credit increase to student fees. This would go toward building a new Biology building as well as an addition to the Natural Resource building.
“This increase will go straight to those buildings,” Senator Kwon Yearby said. “I think we are setting a bad precedent if we encourage a fee like this because it is not sustainable.”
The proposed increase in fees would give UFFAB an increase from $10 million to $16 million a year.
“I think the UFFAB process currently puts it in that spot to where students will be paying for something that they will never see,” Yearby said.
The bill that ran through ASCSU senate called for a fee increase no higher than $0.25 per credit hour to keep the cost down to students.
Yearby, who proposed the bill, is not on the UFFAB board.
“I would argue that this resolution shows a complete lack of faith in our student system,” Elections Manager Lexi Evans said. “It’s not letting us do our job. We have an extensive process.”
Senate discussed the fact that this fee was not yet approved by the SFFRB and nothing was official.
“We should not be talking about this until SFRB meets and makes a proposal. That’s the job of the SFRB,” Lance Li Puma said.
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ASCSU Senate voted to postpone the bill indefinitely.
“For me, this feels like we are circumventing our process,” ASCSU Vice President Andrew Olsen said. “At the current time this doesn’t feel right to me.”
Collegian ASCSU Beat Reporter Steph Mason can be reached at news@collegian.com.
