any in Student Government agree that the state budget crisis will have an unavoidable effect on the way the organization makes decisions regarding the student body.
Senator Gabrielle Triche said the potential cuts to higher education funding will definitely influence the Student Senate’s fee-related issues in the future.
“Now more than ever we will remain conscious of our decisions in order to make the best decisions and to find the best way to spend the money in our budget,” Triche said.
In late January, the SG executive branch met to discuss three potential student fee hikes: $2 over two to four years as a gift to the Military Excellence Fund Commission, $2 per semester for the creation of a student sustainability fund and a $1-5 fee to provide commuter shuttles.
The transportation fee has yet to make its way through the Student Senate, but a resolution to place the sustainability fund on the ballot for students to vote on during spring elections passed Feb. 3. However, SGCR No. 7, a resolution to place the fee for the Military Excellence Fund Commission on the ballot, failed to pass during the same meeting because of fears surrounding potential cuts to the University.
Triche, the resolution’s author, said the proposed gift would have honored veterans and the University’s distinctive military history by helping fund restorations to the Memorial Tower, which will soon house a military museum.
“LSU has had a long history of being a military school,” Triche said. “I felt that this initiative would have been a great way for students to show their appreciation of this history.”
The resolution sparked discussion about whether or not a student fee increase during the state’s historic budget crisis would be appropriate. Some senators thought students should have been given the opportunity to decide whether or not they wanted to fund the renovations.
“Like many of the buildings on our campus, the Memorial Tower is not in the best shape,” said senator Kenneth Coleman. “I felt that the students deserved the right to vote on [the fee increase].”
Other SG members thought that proposing a fee increase while facing potential cuts to higher education would send the wrong message.
SG chief of staff Kat Latham spoke against the resolution at the meeting, saying that while she believed the money would go to a worthy cause, now was not the right time.
“Is it fair to ask students to fund the bell tower with what proves to be the worst higher education budget cut in the history of the United States?” Latham said.
Latham compared her views on the resolution to the way state legislators are dealing with budget cuts, saying that SG must find alternate ways to fund projects like these just as the legislature must find alternative ways to fund higher education.
“We realize that the student funds we give are valuable,” Latham said. “We make every effort to use those funds wisely.”
Triche said while she respects the Senate’s ultimate decision, healthy debate should always be encouraged when it comes to making decisions on behalf of the student body.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Catherine Seddon

The Memorial Tower on Feb. 15, 2016.