LETTER: Show support for SMOC

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to the article printed in Monday’s Statesman featuring the new club SMOC, Stop Monopolies On Campus. I strongly support SMOC and their efforts to help students and faculty save money.

I applaud the efforts of students who are involved in exposing the monopolistic powers that exist at Utah State. SMOC takes a stand for student and faculty consumers on campus. We benefit by allowing competition in food services, physical facilities and other campus monopolies. Such competition would give money back to students and faculty.

Moreover, the increased sales tax revenue and elimination of costly inefficient employees and services would allow funds to be channeled to students, not administrative pork. The opponents of privatization would argue this cannot be done on our campus, but they are wrong. Why should services on campus be exempt from the same accountability requirements that would apply to them in the “real world?”

It is time all students stand up and make their voices heard. With tuition on the rise, why not give students the chance to save a few bucks when buying books, eating in The Hub or living on campus? The location of eating establishments in Logan makes on-campus facilities the only alternative. It takes too much time between classes to go downtown. We need competition on campus.

In creating competition and requiring all campus services to be accountable, we will save money by eliminating the existing monopolies.

Jared Green