Volume 3, Issue 26 © MetroPress, April 15, 1981
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Student fee vote sparks gov't tiff by L.J. Clark
Although voting was allowed for almost three months, only a , small percentage of the MSC ~student body participated in the referendum on the allocation of student fees. This semester, students were allowed to vote on how they wanted their student fee monies spent, ""in a referendum sponsored by the Associated Students of MSC. Ballots were accepted from early January until March 13, and the votes were f"mally tallied last week '-- the results falling short of what was expected by the student government. "We didn't get our 25 percent, but we got a percentage," declared Pattie Goodman, ASMSC chief of "staff. Although the MSC administration had agreed to abide by the results of the .referendum if 25 percent of the student body responded, far less than one quar4-ter of all MSC students voted: Goodman said approximately 1500 ballots were returned, nearly 11 percent of the MSC student populace. "But," she stated, 'I'm sure ,M acintyre (Donald Macln-
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tyre, MSC's president) will recognize this referendum." Goodman also said, "The SAC (Student Affairs Committee) is constitutionally bound to this referendum, according to Article XI, Section 2 of the constitution of the ASMSC." In the past, the $300,000-plus in student fees have been allocated by the Student Affairs Board ......_ a group consisting of two faculty
members, one aclministrator, and ·constitutionally bound to consider the Student Affairs Committee the results of the vote, but he (six elected students). The money questions "the legality of the for allocation comes from the referendum." The SAC will only $38.50 collected from each full be constitutionally bound if ''the time student upon registration. ballots were properly distributed, Part-time students (taking 10 properly' counted and properly credit hours) pay $2.50 per credit collected." He said he was only hour. voicing his personal opinion, and Emerson Schwartzkopf, SAC was not speaking for the entire chair, said he agrees that SAC. "technically" the SAC would be Ballots were mailed with the Spring 1981 registration confirmation. However, many students did not recieve the ballots, which were later made available in the Student Government Office. · The SAC chair also declared "students didn't know they were directillg the fees" when they voted, for there was "no real indication of what was happening" when they filled out the ballot. He said ''th' issue was not properly represented to the students." But, Sonny Wasinger: president of MSC's student government and author of the referendum, said the student government "obeyed the· Constitution'' and that the 0 ~ referendum was "approved by the ~ .J.Joint Committee" (the SAC and ft m.::::.·."t:.i..w.=...; -------..a the Curriculum Committee) at its Schwartzkopf: is referendum legal? Results - pg. 5. . conception.
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