UC 2010 Initiative Co-Chair Micah Kenfield said the UC Student Fee Referendum, a plan to raise student fees to renovate the UC, was a groundbreaking achievement for UH.
"Typically when student referendums go forward, they’re not nearly as huge of a marginal success," said Kenfield, an English senior.
Of the 4,161 students who visited the polls on Tuesday and Wednesday, 77 percent, or 3,204 students, voted in favor of the UC Transformation Project. Twenty-three percent, or 957 students, voted against it.
"This is a time in UH history that we know we’ve had the chance to make a difference as students by literally going out and voting," UC 2010 Initiative Co-Chair and hotel and restaurant management junior Nicole Sopko said.
The UC Transformation Project plan involves raising the student UC fee to $160 per semester from its current $35 per semester, in increments of $25 over a four-year period starting in 2010, to cover the renovation and maintenance of the proposed $100-million transformation.
If renovated, the UC facility will include expanded spaces for student activities, dining and retail, 24-hour access to lounge spaces and an outdoor amphitheatre for campus events.
Among the colleges with the strongest showings at the polls, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences had the largest student voter turnout on Tuesday and Wednesday with 857 students, 701 were from the Bauer College of Business, 669 from the University Studies Division and 648 from College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
In a November 1998 student-fee referendum, 53 percent of students voted for a $75 per semester student fee for the construction of the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
Kenfield said some students at the polls objected to the fee increase, but most of them seemed positive about renovating the UC.
"The biggest question I got was ‘where can I go to vote yes,’" Kenfield said.
He said some students chose not to vote because they assumed the referendum would pass anyway, thinking their vote wouldn’t matter.
Communication junior Amanda Wilson said she voted against the UC Transformation Project because tuition and fees have increased drastically since she’s been at the University and students should not have to absorb the cost.
"I feel that I don’t need to pay any more when I could easily utilize the facilities we already have here," she said. "We have a lot compared to TSU down the street .It’s unnecessary."
English and biology senior Angela Shulle said she voted for the fee increase because the renovation of the UC would be good for UH.
"Even though I’m leaving next semester, I think it will be good for my little sister," Shulle said. "Even though it’s a gradual increase in fees I think it’s good for the University as a whole."
Shulle, a commuter student, said it’s a place where she meets friends even though she doesn’t use the campus as much as student residents.
Kenfield and Sopko said they plan to meet with UH officials and encourage student involvement before presenting the renovation project to the UH System Board of Regents on Feb. 10.
Members of the UC 2010 Initiative will meet with UH President and UH System Chancellor Renu Khator on Dec. 2 and other UH officials subsequently to discuss steps that need to be taken during winter break.
"We’re taking a breather right now," Kenfield said. "And then we’re going to have a meeting with Dr. Khator and other UH board officials including Vice President of Governmental Relations Grover Campbell to approach on how we’re going to take it past the Board of Regents level to the state of Texas."
If the project gains approval from the board, a bill for the UC fee increase will also be proposed to the Texas Legislature in February.
The initiative is moving forward on a multi-year process for both governing documents and recruitment to bring more students on board. Kenfield and Sopko said they would also like to accommodate more students for the initiative squad.
For more information on the UC 2010 Initiative, visit www.uh.edu/uc2010m.
