SDSU proposes new fees for 'stuff'
Members of the University Administration have implemented a hard court press to convince students that they really really "need" more money! They believed in it so much, that IT spent 60 HOURS coming up with "reasons" why students should pay even more money. Luckily the students saw through this ruse and the CFAC voted 12-4 against the new fee.
However, the President can still ask for this fee regardless of what the students want. And just recently, Associate VP Bob Schulz brought it up again at a sustainability meeting claiming the University could not save the environment unless the poorest, most marginalized members of the community forked over another $500/year. So, they want to raise fees during a pandemic with inflation on rent and food skyrocketing? And for what? E-waste recycling and E-sports? Talk about "out of touch".
And do they really need the money? A California State Audit says the CSU and SDSU have PLENTY of money...it's just not for students, the faculty or the campus. Check out this story from the Daily Aztec a few years ago:
Lowlights:
In 2018, SDSU held and excess $28 Million in student parking fees.
SDSU's total surplus at that time was $456 Million dollars.
SDSU built a new structure for parking, but it was used primarily for local businesses and did not increase the parking for students even though it was paid for by student fees.
Quote from the article:
"The audit indicated the CSU “failed to fully disclose” $1.5 billion in reserves — made up largely of unspent tuition fees"
Faculty and students have put together a petition to reject this fee and it is full of interesting information: https://www.change.org/p/no-new-fees-reject-the-proposed-ats-fee
If the University *really* cared about the environment, it would spend some of this ill-gotten lucre on upgrading the campus buildings, installing solar grids, buying up free bus/trolley passes and improving the recycling.
Heck, they could even take out a loan! They did this for SDSU West, so why not take out a loan to save the planet with modifications that would literally pay for themselves? Once again, it's not about money: it's about priorities.