On Monday March 11, students will be able to vote on KnightLink for campus-wide Student Association positions, class officers and the student activity fee referendum. The results of the referendum will determine whether or not student activity fees remain mandatory. According to SA Director of Public Relations Forrest Regan, the $100 per semester student activity fee goes toward funding SA’s $1.3 million budget and is put toward funding student organizations, programs, services and events.
The SA budget is comprised of a combination of approximately $300,000 planned income and approximately $1 million in mandatory student activity fees.
Should students vote down the referendum, Regan said that funding of student clubs, events or services would not be guaranteed. “That would mean everything from no club sports to no concerts to no free fax service or SA water cooler,” he said. “If the referendum is passed it means we continue to have everything that SA funds.”
Regan also said that the fees benefit a wide range of students.
“There are rarely any students that don’t benefit from mandatory student activity fees,” he said. “Every student has the possibility and opportunity to receive more than $200 in return from their activity fee through events and services that SA provides, like the hour of free legal consultation that students are provided each semester and subsidized tickets for students.”
According to Regan, in order for the referendum to pass, at least 1,000 students must vote and two-thirds of these students must vote to keep activity fees mandatory. Students can vote at knightlink.geneseo.edu.
“Vote yes for the referendum,” Regan said.