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The Daily Aztec
May 4 - 10, 2022 EDITOR: Katelynn Robinson • news@thedailyaztec.com
Graduate students push back against
$300 First Year Experience Fee
Photo courtesy of Freepik
Students voiced concerns about the $300 fee they are automatically enrolled in. Students must opt out of the fee, but direction information about how to do this has been scarce.
by John Paul STAFF WRITER
Cavada
The Graduate Student Experience Program, organized by the Office for Graduate Life and Diversity, has been met with student pushback concerning its excessive fees. The GSEP contains the First Year Experience Fee, which is a fee of $300 that can be opted out of. The FYE fee covers the PreOrientation, Orientation and the Office for Graduate Life’s student activities during the first year of graduate school, according to the New Student and
Parent Programs. Upon admission, graduate students who have 18 or more units matriculated are automatically placed into the GSEP, according to the Office for Graduate Life and Diversity. Graduate students who opt out of the program will still have full access to existing and critical support services provided by the university, according to the Office for Graduate Life and Diversity. However, graduate students have not been properly informed about the option to opt out of the FYE fee.
Presidential Task Force progress after two years by Catlan Nguyen EDITOR IN CHIEF
When first formed in the fall of 2019, the San Diego State Presidential Task Force set out analyze how alcohol and drug use plays a role in the college student experience. This group was formed after the death of freshman Dylan Hernandez in fall 2019, and some changes they’ve made include implementing the Amnesty policy and Good Samaritan policy, hiring a Fraternity and Sorority Life Director and putting more efforts in expanded Aztec Nights events to discourage drinking and partying among students. “Our goal is not just to punish,” Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities Lee Mintz said. “We don’t want to punish. It’s not a punitive process, it’s an educational process. When we meet with students, we want to understand the ‘why.’” The Amnesty policy was implemented in April 2021 and it allows students to get help for themselves or others without the fear of receiving disciplinary sanctions through the SDSU conduct process. The Good Samaritan policy removes conduct penalties for certain alcohol and other drug violations. This applies when a student organization seeks timely assistance from appropriate emergency personnel and SDSU staff for any student impacted by alcohol or other drugs at a student organization activity. Generally, students reporting incidents of sexual violence or hazing, or calling for medical assistance for alcohol or other drug-related incidents will not be subject to student conduct charges related to alcohol or other
drugs, according to the university. “Exceptions to this may include matters related to sexual violence (i.e., if a student sexually assaults a member of the campus community and then calls for assistance, if the victim needs medical assistance related to alcohol or other drugs - whether or not provided by the perpetrator, the perpetrator themselves will not receive amnesty), sales or distribution of alcohol or other drugs, physical assaults, and/or matters related to discrimination and harassment,” the university said, in an email. “Individual circumstances vary depending on the incident.” This also does not include all exceptions to the Amnesty and Good Samaritan policies. “Our first priority is making sure that people are safe,” Mintz said. “If you’re the person that reports, or you’re the person that gets help for yourself or others, you won’t be in violation of university policy.” The university has seen an increase in reportings from individual students, according to the Hazing Prevention Task Force Co-Chairs Mintz and Caryl Montero-Adams “I don’t think the number of incidents have increased,” Mintz said. “I think that people are reporting more because they’re more comfortable knowing that they’re not in jeopardy of getting their friend in trouble.” The Presidential Task Force currently has vacancies for Student Representative positions, Fraternity and Sorority Life Advisor, a University Senate Representative and a University Police Department Representative. Students have been attending task force meetings and more students have been invited to participate, according to the university. SEE ONLINE
“What this feels like to me is, the program is relying on graduate students missing the deadline to opt out and forcing them to then pay a $300 enrollment fee, which is predatory,” chemistry graduate student Colton Breyer said. The only information regarding the program and the option to opt out was a single sentence buried within an email, according to chemistry graduate student Ellen Kuang. The website to properly opt out of the fee was not included in this email. “I personally think it’s incredibly predatory considering that it’s not an ‘opt-in’ program but rather an ‘optout’ program…This was thrown upon us without any consultation…” Kuang said. Breyer adds emails surrounding the GSEP and FYE fee are often sent straight to the spam or junk folder of student emails. As of now, graduate students are still uncertain whether these fees are paid out of their loans or out of their pocket. Graduate students who have been unknowingly opted-in consider the orientation events within the GSEP to be a standard practice. “Us graduate students, the time that
we do have is quite precious to us…If I don’t have to, I would honestly rather not have to go some of those things, and feel that I need to get my money’s worth because I’m being forced to pay $300 for it,” Kuang said. Breyer shares his experience that graduate students are some of the most financially burdened individuals due to working paycheck and paycheck with debt from previous education. “We’re really all not particularly fond of it. We’re already having to pay a lot out of pocket…Asking us to shell out more is absolutely unreasonable,” Kuang said. Graduate students have pitched an alternative for the FYE fee. Instead of being an “opt-out” program, the GSEP should be an “opt-in” program. “The frustrating part about the whole thing is most of the services included in the $300 fee should be free resources for the student and not an additional tacked-on fee,” Breyer said. As a graduate student within the College of Science, Kuang already has access to similar programs that the GSEP expects them to pay for.
Faculty criticize SDSU budget:
Dunster said. This 53% proposal would not cost the taxpayer and would only ask for oversight of the allocation of funds as it had done in the past. “In fact, it used to be many years before I came. The legislature did allocate the percentage to instruction when they funded the CSU. Somewhere along the line, the chancellor and the long beach administration convinced them to allow the administration to take care of the funds,” Dunster said. “It’s like putting the foxes in charge of the hen house.” SDSU said the budget process includes advisory consultation with the University Senate Committee and on University Resources and the President’s Budget Advisory Committee. The university also shares graphs and data on the university budget on its Budget Transparency Portal. “The university carefully assesses all budget concerns and works diligently to ensure the most appropriate allocation and use of financial resources to meet the mission and goals of the university,” SDSU said.
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“It’s just the same old bullshit, the same status quo. Enrollment keeps going up; the university is growing. Pay for administrators keeps going up. The number of administrative positions continues to increase. Yet, at the same time, student fees keep increasing; tuition is going up. As a lecturer, I know the money is not going to me. Where’s all the money going? Anytime you try to ask, you get these really vague answers,” Schuermann said. Schuermann asked for more information on the allocation of funds at SDSU and across the CSUs. “I think there is mismanagement of funds going on. Transparency is really important. If that means a thousand or two thousand page handbook detailing exactly where it goes, then put it out. We will read it,” Schuermann said. Kelley and Schuermann said the call for 53% of the CSU budget to be spent on instruction would help foster a better education for students at SDSU. “That’s why we are supposed to be here. That’s why I’m here, is for students to learn. To crack those eggs open, to be excited about understanding the world and go change it hopefully. I don’t know if that’s really the mission of everyone. It seems like SDSU is more interested in its own aggrandizement and reputation rather than serving the students that are there right now,” Schuermann said. Mark Dunster, mathematics professor and contributor to the proposal, said the legislative route is the best way to change how CSU is allocating its funds. “It should be an easy sell to the legislature because they don’t have to do anything except enforce it,”
SEE ONLINE
Photo by Joseph Barr
SDSU spent $175,000 on the 125th anniversary.
