The Associated Students are pushing a proposal that would make the $8.50 A.S. Benefit fee required for all students when they register for classes. While the proposal seems to be a ways off from becoming reality, the move would have the potential to do a lot of good for the student body.
First off, the fee is not that big. Fullerton College students that choose to pay the A.S. Benefit fee are only charged $8.50. That is the price of a lunch and a coffee.
In fact, the student government charges one of the lowest fees of the colleges in our area. At Orange Coast College the fee is $22. At Long Beach City, their government charges $20. Golden West College charges $18. At many of the community colleges in the district that fee is not optional.
You don’t even want to compare that to the fees that charged by the University of California schools, which are routinely over $100.
The problem with the student government fee that we have now is that it is not enough for the student government to actually make substantial changes with. Right now, they do not have the money to do much more than buy food for the student body and hire DJs at events.
If, for example, the student government wanted to set up a 24-hour study center, like they are working on at Cal State University, Long Beach, the Administration would say that they could not afford it and that would be the end of it. If the A.S. was able to fund half of the cost of a project like that it might be more feasible to the administration.
The student government has also been unable to pay to have their website updated in some time. Without a current website it is harder and harder for them to keep students apprised of the organization’s activities.
There is also more that they could do to help students with more funds. A.S. Vice President Joshua Kleinbergs stated that the Care Bank can only afford to give out 10 bus passes a month but have more students that could use them.
Even though A.S. may not be able to get this proposal passed by the next school year, if you want your student government to better represent the student body, you might have to break out your wallet and fund their efforts.
