Confusion remains over fee

"I think the initiative is something the university is trying to sneak by the students," said Celia Aguilar, senior Chicano studies major. "A lot of the students I know are confused by it and the university hasn't really explained it well to the students. I think they just added the campus life to it as a technicality, and a lot of students believe that this is really just to add funds to the athletics program."
If passed, the initiative would create an initial athletic fee of $10 per credit hour starting in fall 2011. Along with that, the fee would increase by $2 per credit hour in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

In order for the initiative to be passed, the referendum must be voted for by more than 50 percent of the student voters. Voting will take place online from March 10 at 8 a.m. until March 11 at 5 p.m.

According to Gary Edens, associate vice president of student affairs and dean of students, even if students vote yes, the initiative still must get through a long process, which includes being approved by the Texas State Legislature.

"If the students approve this, then it will go to the administration on campus and they will review and then write up legislation," Edens said. "It will then go to our state legislature and seek approval from them when they meet next spring."
The initiative will feature two separate sections, with the funds aiding student organizations and also helping the athletic department.

"There are two parts to this plan. One is for campus life initiatives, which would help fund student organizations and the second part would help fund the athletic department," Edens said.

Although student service fees will decrease by $2 per credit hour, the increase for athletics will have a financial effect on students. Currently, students pay $14.75 in student service fees, which means they pay $177 per semester for a class load of 12 hours. The proposed initiative would add an almost 54 percent increase, which means students will pay $273 in student service/athletic fees in fall 2011. By the 2013, the fees will increase to $321.
"Right now, students pay around $15 for the student service fee and about $4 out of the $15 goes to athletics," Edens said. "The proposal means that athletics will no longer get those $4. Because athletics is no longer getting that money they will now get their own fee. They will get a separate fee that they will then utilize for athletic purposes. The whole package will not only go to support UTEP athletics, but also to campus life, which the two kind of go hand in hand."

According to Alejandra Acosta, SGA senator at-large, the UTEP Athletics Department approached the SGA with this initiative to help create a more specific and stable budget for the department.

The uncertainty of what the future has in store for the athletic program has presented the challenge of not knowing how or where the money will be used.
"We haven't received a set plan for this money, which would create around a pool of a million dollars for the athletics department if this fee passes," Acosta said. "The arguments they (UTEP Athletics) keep giving us is that they don't know what their needs are going to be in five years and that they want to remain competitive."
Many students' opinions have varied over the initiative, but most remain confused over the exact reason for it. Some students feel that not all the details of the proposal have been fully explained to them.

"There were a lot of different opinions on this initiative in the Senate, so we (Senate) agreed that this is something the students have to decide on. The SGA has not taken a position on this yet and we are letting the students decide," Acosta said. "I think taking into consideration the (tuition) increase that was already passed by the Texas Board of Regents and the demographic of the students that attend the university, I believe it will be a big burden on the students."

Aguilar fears that fees from the initiative will mostly go to the athletic department and academic programs will see little of that money.
"To me it seems like a campus life budget cut and an athletic enhancement," Aguilar said. "They (SGA) said that it helps the university as a whole in enhancing the image and creating school pride, but they gave nothing concrete for students. I know and understand it is important to gain Tier-one status for the university and the students, but it's not happening in a way that is beneficial to the students."

Aaron Martinez may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.