Senate postpones fee hike

The Student Government Association decided to postpone a resolution on a bill regarding a $50 increase to student’s tuition in order to aid the second phase of renovations to the University Center.

Senators decided that there was not enough input from current students at UH and to vote on the resolution at this point would be an “uninformed” decision.

Although a similar resolution was passed at the last meeting that would help aid the first phase of the renovations, the majority of the current senators fear that passing an increase in student fees without a strong gauge of what the students they represent want would be an injustice to them.

“There is an (even) split exactly from the students that I polled,” Senator At Large Anna Fisher said. “About a third of the kids want us to pass this in order for future (students) to see a great UC even if they don’t see it, a third of the students are like, ‘We do not need a renovation,’ and a third of the students feel like the renovation is a great project but don’t want to pay for something they don’t see.”

However, not everyone on the senate agrees with postponing the decision.

There was a strong move to pass the resolution by many of the senators and committees in the room, including President Michael Harding, who feels that a renovation is needed for “the heart” of the University and declining the bill will just make the process harder in the long run.

“The time to pass is now,” said Jeff Syptak, CLASS senator for the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. “The aid will help and maintain the Tier One status that we have now. There is no need to wait to pass the resolution. We are voting on our future and the University’s future.”

Senators agreed to postpone the resolution until after they have discussed the issue with students and planned a special meeting for Monday to make a final decision.