Associated Students of UCLA officials gathered with members of
both graduate and undergraduate student governments Wednesday to
discuss the possibility of a raise in the quarterly student union
fee.
The student union fee, which goes toward the maintenance of the
student union and ASUCLA services, is currently $7.50 per quarter,
but could potentially rise to nearly five times its current value,
depending on the outcome a student vote.
If passed by students through a referendum, which is likely to
be voted in the upcoming spring quarter, the fee would go into
effect starting with the 2005-2006 school year.
Though none of the aspects of the proposal are finalized, the
current numbers show that the fee could be raised to $34.50 in its
first year and would continue to go up every year after that based
on the Consumer Price Index, a measurement by the U.S. Labor
Department of changes in the prices of goods and services.
Projections for the next five years show that the fee could be
as high as $58.50 in the 2009-2010 school year.
The rate at which these fees will increase and the starting
point for the first year are both numbers that will be up for
debate in future meetings.
At this point, the new student fee is part of the preliminary
budgets for the upcoming years, but whether it remains depends on
decisions that will be made in the future.
This fee is necessary in order for ASUCLA to be able to carry
out a number of capital projects that have been pushed back for the
past few years.
These projects include a Food Services Master Plan that could
include the renovation of the Bombshelter eatery in South
Campus.
Robert Williams, interim executive director of ASUCLA, explained
that after looking at the current trends affecting the
association’s businesses, in addition to future plans, the
need for an increase in the student union fee became evident.
“The numbers just didn’t add up,” he said.
Williams added that, in a case like this, the first step is to
educate both the undergraduate and graduate governments and listen
to their concerns and ideas, a process that started at
Wednesday’s meeting, when a number of student concerns were
brought to the table.
Allende Palma/Saracho, Undergraduate Students Association
Council president, expressed concerns about the sudden rise in fees
and suggested that incentives such as lower food prices be offered
to students in exchange for the fees paid.
Though offering perks is not a wise choice for an association
that is already sensing financial trouble, there are some plans in
place in case there is a surplus from the money brought in from the
new fees, Williams said.
He added that the association is looking into different ways to
redistribute any surplus money back to the students.
“We should keep no penny from the students … more than
we actually need,” Williams said.
UCLA currently has one of the lowest student union fees compared
to other undergraduate UC campuses, some of which have fees in the
hundreds of dollars.
At the meeting, Williams emphasized that ASUCLA is extremely
proud of the low student union fees at UCLA and that this raise is
a last resort.
The fee would go toward a number of ASUCLA services besides the
Food Service Master Plan ““ which is still pending approval
““ that have taken a back seat in the past.
Jerry Mann, director of Ackerman Union, said due to the shortage
in funds, the union has not been able to provide the kind of
services it desires.
One example that was given was that ASUCLA is not currently able
to have janitorial service during the weekends.
“This could help us do this,” Mann said, referring
to the additional services that could be made available if the fee
is passed.