On June 24, LSU Student Government president Zack Faircloth attended his first meeting as the University system’s student representative to the LSU Board of Supervisors. During that first meeting, Faircloth voted to raise student fees across the system.
Faircloth said the initial meeting was a “baptism by fire” experience. In addition to granting approval for the fee increase, the board also voted to grant approval for the LSU AgCenter to pursue a medical marijuana growth program under Senate Bill 271.
Faircloth also voted in favor of the medical marijuana proposal.
Faircloth said voting for the increase was a tough decision, but he said the board needed to face the problem sooner rather than later. The fee increase was proposed to help maintain the University’s mandated costs in light of the Legislature’s continued cuts to higher education.
The student fees proposal increased the University’s student excellence fee by $177 per semester for the 2016-2017 academic year. The revenue generated by the increased fees will be used to improve University services and support faculty, according to the board’s June meeting minutes.
Faircloth said he stressed to the board that student fees will need to be lowered if further tuition hikes are implemented in the future.
The board’s budget meeting on Sept. 9 will likely be another difficult meeting. Board members include appointments from both Governors Jindal and Edwards, which will likely lead to several difficult votes, Faircloth said.
The SG president said his goal is to gauge student opinion on board issues and effectively communicate those needs and wants to the board and other system presidents.
“My goal, more than anything, is that I want to make sure I’m communicating well to the other LSU system presidents and make sure I’m communicating well to the board our needs,” he said. “If I can do both of those things, I’ll have done my job and I’ll have done my job well.”
Faircloth represents students from each branch of the University system, including LSU at Alexandria, LSU at Eunice, LSU, LSU in Shreveport and the Health Sciences Centers in New Orleans and Shreveport. The SG presidents from each branch elected Faircloth to the position.
Faircloth is the first Student Government president from the main campus to serve on the board since John Woodard in 2013. Faircloth ran against Dennis Henderson, LSU Shreveport’s returning Student Government president, for the role.
As SG president, Faircloth represents the main campus, the Graduate School, the Paul M. Hebert Law Center and the LSU AgCenter, accounting for roughly 35,000 of the approximately 45,000 students in the University system.
Board of Supervisors Chair Ray Lasseigne said the role of student representative is critical to the board’s success. While the Board seeks to actively meet the needs of students, they have limited personal access to students on the campuses they serve.