HSU students vote overwhelming against fee increase
Times-Standard 4/28/07
HSU President Rollin Richmond earlier this month instituted a $202 instructionally related activities fee increase per semester to help fill the university's $4.8 million to $6 million budget hole.
”I think we proved to HSU that students do care about the university and the referendum process can work,” Rob Christensen, Associated Students administrative vice president, said Friday.
On the non-binding fee referendum, 89 percent of student voters said they didn't support the fee increase and 91 percent said they didn't support the consultative process HSU administration used to propose the increase.
Of the 7,146 eligible voting students, 2,216, or 31 percent, cast ballots this week, according to Associated Students. Last year, 7.5 percent of students voted. Seven percent voted in 2005, according to Colleen Roberts, A.S. Elections commissioner.
”Nobody remembers it being this high,” Roberts said.
Incoming A.S. President Tara Rentz said many students would have supported the increase had their opinions be taken into account. “A lot of students are OK that it's going through, they just want to manage it the way they want,” she said.