The importance of spendthrift with student fees

Recent stipend increases for student groups and the Associated Students of Portland State University raise questions about the use of student fees. [“Student stipends raised across the board,” Oct. 9.] To be clear, the proposed stipend increase is to come from a reserve fund–unspent student fees.

I am comfortable with the idea that ASPSU can ask for a stipend increase from the reserve because of living costs. What is not clear though, is how much more should be given to student groups.

First, ASPSU: The student government and Student Fee Committee make some money, but not a ton. On the upper end, President Hannah Fisher currently receives a monthly stipend of $940. Near the low end, the SFC members get $525.

If the increases are due, in fact, to increases in the cost of living, according to Hannah Fisher in the news article, then this seems fair enough. Even if you don’t support the work or goals of ASPSU, I’m for giving them the benefit of the doubt that they at least put in their hours (i.e. the time Vice President Kyle Cady and Legislative Affairs Director Zach Martinson spent in the park blocks getting you to register to vote).

Someone working minimum wage at 20 hours a week over a single 11-week term will take home about $1750, while student government members could take home about $1500 to $2820. This isn’t exactly bank, but student government members can earn credits for participation in student government, so the money is not insignificant either.

Still, it would be difficult to call ASPSU greedy, even of you’re wary that this proposed stipend increase came ahead of the normal two-year time frame the Educational Stipend Review Committee set up to discuss stipends.

The increased cost of living seems a perfectly legitimate reason to ask for a stipend increase. And they do not simply sign off on themselves receiving more money, which would entail conflicted interests; PSU faculty via the General Student Affairs Committee has given approval as well.

But do student groups as a whole need the increase from the reserve fund? I’m not so sure. Student groups certainly need money to operate, but if they are giving student groups more money to be “fair,” as Fisher said, then I’d rather we be fair to the students paying the fees first, and student groups second.

That is, if they’ve collected a surplus, leave it that way and drop student fees, hold on to the money so that student fees won’t increase later, or save it for future student groups. Full-time students pay over $600 in student fees in an academic year.

Student fees help fund athletics, campus recreation and many operations of the Smith Memorial Student Union, which a decent number of us make use of, including the 150 student groups with their own (legitimate) interests and goals.

But why should the surplus money that is collected go immediately to student groups now? Surely over the years there will be more requests for student groups, and aren’t they going to need some of this money too? Or should we just let student fees continue to increase?

If cost of living is going up, surely this affects the students paying fees too. If we have to learn to adjust our budgets and cut things out when our money won’t go as far, then shouldn’t the student groups and student government as well, as a whole?

Student fees go to pay for things a number of us benefit from (I get paid to write for the Vanguard, for instance), but it is still your money after all, or at least taxpayer subsidized grants and loans that you think is your money.

And ASPSU certainly knows it is your money. Their campaign platform Web site makes the following points: “The interest that is generated from our tuition revenue is not kept in the hands of students. Instead, it goes back to the general fund in the amount of $40 million.” And, “Our money belongs to us. We need to keep the interest of our tuition in the hands of the universities, not the legislature.”

I won’t go so far as to say ASPSU cannot spend any of the surplus student fee money, and I don’t expect a rebate in the mail. If raises are due, and if the Student Senate really ought to be paid, then fine. But I’m not convinced that student groups are not able to operate right now due to low funding. Certainly the more funding student groups can raise themselves, the better.

At more than $600 dollars a year in student fees for a full-time student, every dollar spent counts. I appreciate the attempt to be fair by Fisher and the committee proposing increases across the board. But all I ask is that the reserve fund be allocated carefully, and if possible, held on to.