ASUSU looks at raising some student fees, hear from Registrar
The Associated Students of USU (ASUSU) Executive Council pushed final legislation through on the ASUSU Information Desk Tuesday, bringing a months-long discussion to an end.
The information desk bill, sponsored by Executive Vice President Spencer Lee, was passed by the council on Nov. 11, but came back to the legislative body after being amended by the Academic Senate.
Taking effect on Jan. 1, the bill requires members of the Executive Council, Academic Senate and appointed officers to spend one hour weekly at the ASUSU Information Desk, located on the first floor of the Taggart Student Center. Officers who fail to complete this requirement would be penalized on a case-by-case basis by an ad-hoc committee chaired by the ASUSU president. It also restricts non-ASUSU entities from using the space for promotional activities without the approval of the executive council.
In its final form, the bill specifies that the desk is to be used in conjunction with, as opposed to abolishing, previous legislation and dictates that elected officers have a representative responsibility toward all USU students and not just those that belong to their respective colleges or constituencies.
Public relations Director Allie Anderson initiated a brief discussion about encouraging clarification regarding desk use by members of the Graduate Student Senate – who are not held to the same weekly requirement as other elected officers – but no changes were made.
With Christmas break approaching, Lee urged members of the Executive Council to approve the bill as is. Lee reminded the council that the bulk of the bill’s content had been previously passed and barred any objections to the amended material, changes to the bill would have to, again, go before the Academic Senate to be finalized, effectively forcing the initiative into next semester.
Ultimately, the vote was near-unanimous in favor, with one opposing vote.
“I am thrilled that we have finally passed it through both (legislative) bodies,” Lee said. “We come back (next semester) and people will be at the (desk).”
Regarding any possible misconceptions in the text, Lee said while the bill may not be perfect in reading, it captures the goal and offers an enforceable backing that the previous legislation did not have.
During the meeting’s council updates, Service Vice President David Knighton reported a significant victory over BYU in the most recent blood battle. USU students donated 433 units of blood, well ahead of BYU’s 314.
“We dominated BYU,” Knighton said and, with a smile, added, “with class.”
In other business, members of the council reported on possible student fee increases for the next academic year. Many fees were reported as possibly not requiring an increase, and of those fee boards that will request more funds, the range was in the range of $1 to $2 per student. Athletics Vice President Jeremy Winn said the recreation fee will likely be a $1 to $1.50 increase to cover the rise in minimum wage for employees and keep the Nelson Fieldhouse open over the summer. The Academic Senate president reported a “set in stone” 53-cent increase to the computer fee. Graduate Studies Vice President Rick Kelly reported a roughly $1.50 increase to the health fee and undetermined increases were reported by council members for the activity and bus fees.
Lee reported on the building fee, which may not increase this year and, if current enrollment trends continue, could possibly be reduced in the future.
– b.c.wood@aggiemail.usu.edu