Flanked with hand-made signs that read, “No means No,” “Green = Greed” and “We Bleed Black and Gold, Not Green,” members of the Cal State Long Beach campus community urged students to write letters to CSULB President F. King Alexander in opposition to a new student fee.
A group of students gathered Thursday in front of the University Bookstore to protest the Student Fee Advisory Committee’s recommendation to Alexander that he consider imposing a student fee following the defeat of the Beach Legacy Referendum.
“Why should seven people on an SFAC committee get to say yes when 3,898 students took the time to say no?” said Amy Jones, a business and kinesiology major and an organizer of the event.
Associated Students Inc. Chief of Staff James Davis, a business management major, helped organize the event. He said he voted in favor of the BLR but felt that the results of the election should be respected.
“We’re just a group of students that like democracy more than anything,” Davis said.
On April 10, the SFAC, a mix of both ASI members and faculty members, did not recommend that the BLR fee be implemented. Instead, SFAC members voted 7-3 to suggest a campus-wide fee of an amount lower than the $95 fee requested by the athletics department through the BLR campaign.
The SFAC’s recommendation alone will not result in a fee increase — only Alexander has the power to implement a new fee increase, with the approval of California State University Chancellor Charles Reed. Alexander can, however, amend a current fee, such as the Beach Pride fee, without the chancellor’s approval.
ASI Treasurer Brian Troutner, a member of the SFAC, attended Thursday’s event despite his vote in favor of recommending that Alexander impose a fee. Troutner, who introduced the motion to support a fee increase to the SFAC, said he felt it was important to make his position known.
“People are going to want to put a face with who said yes,” Troutner said. “I was the one that made the motion because I do think it is in the best interest of the university,”
Other ASI executives came to the rally to show their opposition to a new student fee. Chris Chavez, ASI president-elect, said it was unprecedented for a student vote to be overturned.
“I’ve never seen something [in] which students vote overwhelmingly against something and then a committee votes to overturn it,” Chavez said.
ASI President Erin Swetland encouraged students to write letters to Alexander to show their opposition to a fee increase. Chavez and Swetland are both members of the SFAC but were vocal opponents of the committee’s recommendation.
Students came and went, but the speakers had an audience of about 15 to 20 throughout the hour-long rally. Not everyone in the crowd supported the group’s message.
Julia Gordon, a senior communications major, said she did not like the thought of paying more, but said she felt the money is needed to prevent cuts in services and programs.
“I definitely think that we do need a fee increase on this campus,” Gordon said.
Mariko Strickland, a senior kinesiology major, said it was time for students to give back to their school.
“Students have a hard time seeing the bigger picture and what it can provide for us,” Strickland said. “I don’t think they realize what it can do for our university.”
Marie Rippen, president of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics student council, said the SFAC should not make any recommendations that go against the wishes of the student body.
“This is really just a slap in the face from the students who are supposed to be representing us on this campus,” Rippen said.
Rippen also said that the SFAC did not ask student organizations if they needed money. Rippen said the student organizations her council oversees unanimously oppose any fee increases and would rather raise their own money.
This is a very inexpensive university to attend in the first place, especially for what you can get out of csulb. The 15-20 die-hard opponents are just going to have to suck it up, our school needs this to progress. It’s never been so simple.
The Daily 49er needs better leadership … 15-20 students attended the rally … at least 5 were supporters … try putting a better title on, something like … “BLR Opposition Rally Receives Little Support” … then you would be consistent … you suck!
Hey JR, why don’t you put your money where your mouth is, and donate $1200 right now to pay for what you would have paid if the BLR had passed when you were in school? I like how you have so much faith that Alexander WILL do this when there’s no indication that he will.
The students opposing the BLR will grab the money like a jock strap and never let go. Money is an addiction, especially if it’s somebody else’s. The sad part of it is, only a handful of students getting the bill right between the eyes will benefit unless they join student orgs. Is anybody doing the math about how many actually actually join clubs and athletics in a population that teeters at 38,000? That’s how the rich get richer in the real world; Milk the poor and spend away.
Hey JR Salazar (Beach Fan), if it doesn’t happen are you going to throw another temper tantrum like you did at the ‘Mid? Now that you’ve graduated, why don’t you either grow up or use your fortune to build a women’s soccer stadium?
Amy Jones, deal with it. It’s gonna happen.
Whether you like it or not. If this is gonna be a pain for you, Dominguez is THAT way. *pointing westward towards Carson*
Thank you James Davis and the commenter below you. The endemic problem is a lack of real concern for the students and families that will have this extra burden of debt passed onto them. They will not only inherit this fee, but will be loaded with the first payments of the Student Wellness Center ($110 per semester), but will also be slammed with two more consecutive years of 10 % tuition increases. This will make the freshman class in fall 2010 responsible for @ $1,000 more per year than we pay now, not including any athletics fee Pres. Alexander might ask for. At some point we must tell this university that enough is enough, no means no, and reclaim student ownership. How many hours of extra work will many of these students have to put in, and simultaneously how many hours of study will they have to sacrifice to fill the dollar void? Too many. Even if we’re juniors or seniors, we owe it to future students to stave off fee and tuition increases IN THEIR NAMES. Those future students don’t currently have a voice if it isn’t us. Our legacy must not be instant self-gratification. The timing couldn’t be worse to create a CSULB legacy of selfishness, weakness, irresponsibility and dishonesty. These ASI/administration-led referenda come around every few years (as the guard changes) and they don’t consider the repercussions to tomorrow’s investment other than feel-good bull crap. Going through the line items of my own current fees, I can assuredly say I have contempt from past student government electees for creating unnecessary ways to drain my wallet. Most of them have been recklessly squandered, if all do the real homework. It’s time we actually protect students that will follow us. I implore everybody with a conscience to read below the headlines in the morning paper and to know the issues of our current economy on the evening news. Our economic situation is not going to get better any time soon and will likely worsen for the next few years. This is a time to be proactive and force our university to tighten its belt, rather than to artistically try new spending ventures. If you think programs and services are hurting now, imagine how bad it will get if we continue this tax and spend pattern. Let’s listen to our parents and say, “Now is not the time.” Let’s insist—for them, not for us.
I say when asi passes out the money, college of natural sciences and math shouldn’t get any. their president just said they don’t need. i bet other people do
Just watch, as soon as those organizations are offered the extra money, they will take it without a second thought. They will complain about the fee increase as they take the money. Bunch of hippocrites.
apparently all the no voters don’t feel passionate enough about the issue to show up to the rally. now alexander will use this as a sign that he can impose the fee and meet little organized resistance. that’s what students on this commuter campus get for being so apathetic and disinterested.
too bad
15 – 20 people? Hahaha. They better get campus police to manage that crowd next time. The administration must be hiding under their desks at the prospects of having to face a mob like that.
I agree with the last comment. On my way to the rally I ran into one supporter of the BLR, who showed up to the rally, and she basically said juniors and seniors will not have to pay for the fee increase and Freshman and Sophomores will only have to pay it one or two years… I told her that type of view was Selfish right to her face.
Notice that the supporters are all juniors and seniors who won’t be here when the bill for this fee comes due? Irresponsible to spend other people’s money when you’re leaving. Selfish and reckless.
if they want to raise their own money, LET THEM! Give those thousands of dollars to students who need it for their events! (or did she say her organizations don’t want the money without talking to them?)