Ten years ago, Northeastern students told the administration they wanted a new and improved student center. The students used a referendum as their voice.
As of Monday morning, the future of the Student Activities Fee was handed over to the some 14,000 undergraduate students at Northeastern. It is now up to the students to speak once again.
The Student Government Association is monitoring the referendum, which is a voting process being conducted online. The matter at hand is the increase of the Student Activities Fee, which now stands at $17 per academic quarter. If the referendum passes, the fee will be raised to an annual fee of $100 a year. If the referendum fails, the fee will be set at $50 a year, once the university converts to semesters.
“The system as it stands funds activities as if this school was still a commuter school. There is enough money to do little things,” said Samuel Kalar, an SGA senator and the referendum manager and the chair of the committee that is monitoring the voting process. “There are thousands of students looking for things to do and there is not enough money now to do those things.”
Kalar has also assigned members of student government to “street teams” to go out on campus and get students to vote.
In order for the referendum to be recognized by President Freeland, 15 percent, or 2100 students of the undergraduate population must vote, whether it be for, against or if the student abstains.
“The 15 percent shows that we didn’t sneak it in, we will ensure that a majority voted,” Kalar said. “Our goal is to ensure that every student has the opportunity to participate.”
A majority vote passes the referendum. Whether two students vote yes, one no and 2000 abstentions, the legislation would pass.
To vote, students can log in on the myneu.edu Web site. Northeastern Information Services will insure that voting is secure. Only NU students will be allowed to vote once and only once. Voting will commence on Feb. 28.
“Students are familiar with the system,” Kalar said. “Students widely use the system and we took advantage of that.”
Along with semester conversion, regardless of how the students vote, the allocation process of the SAF will change. One major change would include the addition of a large programming event such as a concert featuring a well-known artist.
Kalar said that $100 may seem like a substantial amount, but he did the math and insists that the total is two-tenths of one percent of a student’s tuition.
“One hundred dollars is really nothing, considering it will revitalize campus,” said SGA President Richard Schwabacher. “If you ask a student, ‘Are you willing to pay two-tenths of a percent for a better living environment?’ I think the students will say yes.”
Though Schwabacher is confident, Kalar said he will respect the student’s opinion no matter how they vote.
“If it doesn’t pass 70 against and 30 for, then that is fair, there would be no reason to push the students,” he said. “It is totally in the hands of the students.”
