The Student Fees Advisory Committee finished that last of its four days of hearings Wednesday, but the work is only half done.
The committee must now sift through the requests from 33 campus organizations and centers to put together a recommendation for UH President Renu Khator, who will then make a recommendation to the UH System Board of Regents (See story, Page 1).
The Daily Cougar would like to take this opportunity, to applaud the committee for the thoughtfulness and care it has already taken in the long process of putting its recommendation together.
Committee members have asked thoughtful questions and shown a true desire to make sure students are getting their money’s worth from the services they pay for.
Although the committee’s work goes unnoticed by the majority of the student body, as seen in the poor attendance during public comment times, committee members strive to protect UH from unnecessary costs.
We should mention The Daily Cougar is funded in part by student-service fees, though Student Publications did not request any additional funding for fiscal year 2009.
No matter what SFAC’s final decisions are regarding the funding student service groups will receive, based on what we’ve seen so far we’re confident the committee’s recommendation will be carefully considered and every dollar of the student-service fee will be justified.
And though The Daily Cougar may not agree with all the committee’s recommendations, we respect the thought, effort and time that went into making them.
SFAC members put many hours into training, hearings and deliberations for the student-service fee process, and they deserve more respect and attention from the campus community.
In an era of sky-rocketing college costs for tuition, fees and books, its refreshing to see SFAC taking students’ pocketbooks seriously.
More of the decision makers at UH should give as much thought and concern to our students as SFAC members.
More students should take the time and interest to learn about SFAC and have a voice in its hearings.
Regardless, the committee sets a good example in its communication with students and consideration of matters that affect them. We thank the committee members for their time and effort and encourage them to finish the recommendation in the strong vein they have begun.
