|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Senate Discusses Student Fee Inequities, I.D. Cards | ||||||
| The A.S. Senate met Wednesday to discuss resolutions demanding fair tuition fees for out-of-state students and authorizing a new ground lease for the Soroptomist House. | ||||||
| Senator Hironao Okahana urged the Senate to pass a resolution eliminating the inequity that the international and out-of-state domestic student faces when coming to CSULB.� According to the resolution, the state spends $10,355 per local student and $11,032 per international student, "which is $677 more than what the state provides for each student."� The resolution also says that Governor Schwarzenegger "proposed the system wide fee increase...by 20% for out-of-state surcharge...allowing 17% or a $1,914 increase for the 2004-05 academic year," which is something that affected students do not want to pay.� This proposal intends to adjust the funding deduction, something Okahana referred to as an "overcharge." | ||||||
| Sen. Brian Roberts agreed with Okahana and said, "I think it is fair to say international students should pay what it costs to educate them," but thinks it is unfair to make them pay more than necessary.� Sen. Erik Jolliff noted that he did not "think it is fair that we make up the deficit by making international students pay [more than we do]," while Sen. Daniel Rukhman inquired if there has always been an "inequity problem."� Okahana says that this is a new trend and that some years "[international students] paid less than" the cost of full tuition.� Okahana also noted that out-of-state domestic students face this problem, and their only benefit is gaining faster residency. | ||||||
| Joan Schwichtenberg, president of the International Community Council, told the Senate that international students are an extremely important aspect of the campus community.� "International students offer us that extra bit of polish that we would not get otherwise," she said. | ||||||
| The Senate approved the resolution, sending it to Documents & Bylaws for further revision. | ||||||
| In other news, Richard Haller, executive director for A.S.I., proposed a resolution that the Senate passed authorizing the renewal of the ground lease for the Soroptomist House. | ||||||
| The house, which is rented to hold various social events such as receptions, weddings, Greek rush events, and the Alumni Association's "Concerts in the Grove" series, has a lease that needs to be renewed every five-years.� The current lease expired on Dec. 31 of last year and the resolution would authorize Haller to enter into the new term. | ||||||
| "The house costs about $30,000-a-year to maintain and we make about $30,000-a-year from it," Haller said, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the lease.� Haller also said that the revenue generated from renting the house goes back into upkeep and maintenance of the facility. | ||||||
| On a side note, the Senate voted to approve the recent proposed I.D.-card fee increase.� Several senators, including Jolliff and Wheeler, clarified that they were not for the fee increase, nor were their constituents, but they all realized that it was necessary and there was no way around it.� As Sen. Shannon Stotz said, "it has to be done." | ||||||
| Wednesday's meeting also brought closure to a bylaw issue that the Senate had been discussing for some time.� Sen. Wheeler wrote the amendment to revise the bylaw in question and the Senate noted that these revisions are important to maintain consistency and balance within the organization. | ||||||
| Copyright Gerry Wachovsky, 2004, and Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | ||||||
| Back | ||||||