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| SGA poses opposition
to athletic fee proposal |
David Forbes
SGA Beat
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Peter Larkins | The Appalachian Senators H. Dustin Bayard (l)
and Evan S. Moniuszko (r) debate the athletic fee proposal before
SGA Tuesday evening.
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A bill declaring
the Student Government Association opposed to the proposed athletic
fee increase narrowly passed the Senate Tuesday evening.
The bill, which passed 26-21, with eight members abstaining, was
intended to declare “the student body’s opposition to
the proposed fee increase and to address student concerns with current
administration priorities.”
The purpose of the bill was two-fold, said off-campus senator H.
Dustin Bayard, one of its authors.
“We went through the numbers, and talked to everybody, and
we came to the conclusion that this is a bad idea. The second purpose
it serves is that it sends a message to the administration that
we question their priorities,” Bayard said.
“The issue here is what takes precedence—are we going
to make this a warm and friendly environment for our students who
need simple services like rape kits? We need to decide what we want
to add to our campus,” said Evan S. Moniuszko, senator from
off-campus. |
“We
need to stand up to the university as a student body and say they
can’t keep coming to us to fees without our input, they’ve
done it so many times, and it’s getting ridiculous,” said
Jeremy P. Engbretsen, off-campus senator, who voted for the bill.
“There are parts of this athletic plan we want to see, but
we want our voice heard.”
Some senators felt the bill did not speak for the student body as
a whole.
“My constituency met last night, and many of them were in favor
of the fee increase,” said Christian H. Greve, senator from
Justice Residence Hall. “I also believe there are other parts
of the university that are being improved, athletics is just one;
it’s not like athletics is being improved and nothing else
is. I don’t think that students are as really anti-fee as everyone
thought they were. I talked to senators from Gardner and Frank hall,
and a lot of people are in favor of it there. I think this is an
issue the student body is divided on.”
Others who voted against the bill had concerns about its quality
or strong wording.
“If this bill simply says ‘all or nothing’ the administration
is just going to dismiss it,” said Erin L. Flynn, off-campus
senator. “I want to be able to bring my children back here
and show them a well-rounded school, including athletics.”
“I can’t say the process behind the bill is bad; students
do need a voice in student fees,” said Kevin R. Davidson, senator
from Frank Residence Hall. “But to shoot down the project and
additions that are in front of us now is wrong. We cannot ignore
the fact that athletics is suffering on this campus.”
The bill would normally have been sent to the rules committee before
coming before the senate, but a vote was made to bypass the committee,
in order to vote on the bill before the Thanksgiving holiday.
The bill will be presented to the administration before the Dec.
6 meeting of the Board of Trustees to decide the final fate of the
increase.
“I think the close vote tonight was not necessarily a reflection
on how students feel about this fee,” said Student Body President
Ryan M. Eller. “I think this vote reflects a lot of varying
opinions.
I believe that this vote still showed that a majority of students
disagree with the fee. It’s not a hundred percent mandate but
I’ve rarely seen votes that were.” |
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