Who gets a say when student fees increase?

Opinions listed here are my own and should not be construed as endorsement by or an official position of USUAA.

A proposal to introduce a mandatory Student Union fee — added to the existing consolidated fee charged to all students — is being advanced quickly at UAA. While supporters frame the proposal

as a way to stabilize funding for student spaces and programming, the pace and structure of this effort raise serious concerns about transparency and representation.

I am not opposed to student life, community spaces, or campus engagement — quite the opposite. I am opposed to implementing a mandatory Student Union fee, rather than pursuing revenue generating options for the Student Union’s operating budget. 

UAA serves a diverse student body. Many students commute, work full time, raise children, or take classes online or in hybrid formats. For these students, the Student Union is often not a central or accessible part of daily campus life. Adding another mandatory fee to the consolidated fee would require them to subsidize a facility they may rarely use. 

Supporters of the proposed fee have stated that sponsorships and alternative funding sources have been explored. 

However, they have also acknowledged that a student fee may replace existing revenue generating activities, such as space rentals and other earned income, rather than supplement them. 

In effect, students would be asked to assume ongoing operating costs so fewer external revenue efforts are required. That shift matters.

I am also concerned about transparency. A recent Student Union survey has been cited as evidence of student support, yet the survey did not disclose that responses could be used to justify a new mandatory fee. 

Students completed the survey without knowing their answers could be used to support a fee increase. If that context had been included, how different might those survey results have been? 

Students who want to be a voice can and should get involved by attending USUAA meetings and sharing their perspectives. I know many students face constraints on their time and availability, including work schedules, commuting distances, caregiving responsibilities and online coursework.

That reality makes this moment all the more important. As Hillel the Elder taught in Pirkei Avot: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” 

Those who represent our student body have a responsibility to speak up not only for themselves, but for those whose voices are harder to hear. 

And when decisions are being made that affect every student’s cost of attendance, now is exactly when we must slow down, ask hard questions, and insist on informed student input.

Ultimately, this is not a question of whether the Student Union matters. It is a question of how decisions that affect every student are made. Mandatory fees added to the consolidated fee should come with transparency, context and broad, informed student input. 

Before asking all students to pay more, we should ask the question: Who benefits, who bears the cost and who was meaningfully represented in the decision-making process?