During the March 2007 Student Government elections, students voted against a fee increase to further fund Student Union renovations. Ten days ago, the LSU Board of Supervisors unanimously passed it anyway. Full-time students pay $60 each semester as part of a self-assessed fee, endorsed by students in 2003, to renovate the Union. Beginning in spring 2008, the Student Union and Union Theater fee will incrementally increase until it reaches $89 in fall 2009.
Board Chairman Rod West characterized the increase as a policy question rather than a numbers issue, though this is unlikely to comfort students fighting rising University costs.
West said the interests of all LSU System stakeholders, not just students, were taken into account when the fee increase came before the Board.
“The students do not dictate what the Board must do,” West said.
Alvin Kimble, chairman of the Board committee responsible for the fee, said the increase was the “best solution for everyone concerned.”
Kimble said Board members felt the students supported Union renovations but were reluctant to cover the costs.
“It’s hard to get people to vote tax or fee increases on themselves,” Kimble said.
Board members said they took students’ interests into account, but the lack of overwhelming opposition to the fee increase played a role in the Board’s decision.
When put before students, the fee increase failed by a slim margin, with 50.99 percent of students voting against it.
“In this particular situation, the student referendum was basically a split vote,” said Board member James Roy.
The administration supported the increase.
Chancellor Sean O’Keefe argued that a fee increase implemented now would reduce costs in the future. He said the increase would provide funding to retain the contractors currently on campus.
Members of the Board, which passed the fee increase on Aug. 17, agreed.
“If we had waited another two or three years and let the Union deteriorate further, it would have been much more expensive,” Kimble said.
The fee increase first came before the Board in July, but the resolution was deferred until August because some Board members felt the fee could be lowered. Originally planned to raise the Student Union and Union Theater fee by $34, the increase was reduced to $29.
Student Government President Cassie Alsfeld, who sits on the Board, said she did not agree with the initial fee amount. She worked with other Board members to lower the fee.
“She was very, very instrumental,” Kimble said. “Cassie was concerned that we did not rubber stamp it when it came before the Board.”
Alsfeld, who described fee increases as a “last resort,” said she felt conflicting pressures from students and administrators about the increase.
“You don’t have to agree with the administration,” Alsfeld said. “You don’t have to disagree with the administration. You do have to work for the right solution and the best solution. We do have to stand up for the students.”
Alsfeld said she voted for the fee increase because she thought it was the best thing for the University and, in the long run, will be good for the students.
“I want to move forward,” Alsfeld said. “I’m here to move forward with this campus. I was elected to get us there, and I will do whatever it takes to get us there.”
—–Contact Daniel McBride at [email protected]