The column, written by Mackenzie Brown, discussed Brown’s concerns about the Spirit of Alabama Act. This act would charge students $12.50 per semester. The money would go towards causes such as financially aiding campus organizations, providing meals to students who do not have sufficient funds and adding to student scholarships.
Patrick Fitzgerald, College of Commerce and Business Administration Senator, said there were errors in the column.
“Do we really think that the governor of this state would let the SGA pass something that would harm and drain the pockets of students?” he said. “Absolutely not.”
Brown referred to the act as a “student activity fee.” He referenced The University of Minnesota’s fee, which he said was $1,627.55 each semester. Fitzgerald said this was incorrect.
“The actual fee they pay is $430,” Fitzgerald said. “However, Mackenzie alludes to the fact that the money spills directly to their SGA. This is not the case, as only $2.86 goes to the SGA. We all make math errors. I sometimes forget to carry the one. It happens to all of us, but accidentally carrying the 1,600? I’ve never heard of that one.”
Joelle Stangler, The University of Minnesota’s SGA president, told CW staff that University of Minnesota students pay approximately $430 each per semester. She said the money goes towards student groups, mental health services, legal counseling for students and funding for their rec center.
In response, Brown said the $1,627.55 at The University of Minnesota references various required fees in addition to the $417.19 student services fee.
“The executive branch understands that not all of this money goes to the SGA; rather, that fee pays for the entire student affairs division,” he said. “In the case of The University of Alabama, our tuition provides those funds. There is no reason for additional fees, but rather we should ask for more money if needed.”
Fitzgerald commented on the raising of taxes.
“Mackenzie says that this would give the SGA the right to raise taxes,” he said. “This is not true, as the bill would have to be approved by trustees, the same group that approves all expenses and student fees. They warn of a day where a harmless $12.50 will turn into a corrupt $1,600. That is just fear mongering and wrong. If there are ideas that lead to the activity fee to get over $12.50, they would have to be approved by the board of trustees and the governor of Alabama.”
Brown said since the original document was submitted as an act, this would, by law, make the Spirit of Alabama Act in effect without the permission of the Board of Trustees.
“If we asked the Board to raise a tax earmarked for SGA, then who else would want to do the same?” he said. “If we charge this fee, we will set precedent and more will follow.
“Some students oppose the act, because they feel it is a tax that may set precedent to slightly larger fees,” he said. “However, there are very few students that I have talked to that feel very strongly against a new $12.50 fee every semester.”
Arts and Sciences Senators Dalton Beasley and Eugene Berry expressed support for the act.
“Over the past few months, a group of senators have all come to the conclusion that the SGA is in need of a reallocation of funds,” Beasley said. “The FAC budget, a budget used solely for small student organizations, is completely depleted. That means if an organization is in need of funding, such as the Rugby Team or the Capstone Music Therapy Association, they have to be denied because all of the money is gone. Something has to be done.”
“I am completely on board to vote with and support Senator Fitzgerald with this legislation,” Berry said. “I can understand that students have their [reservations] with the bill, being that the current image our SGA has our student body doesn’t really trust that we would do what’s truly best for them. I see that side, but I also see this as a wonderful opportunity for the SGA to show its students that it really cares about the welfare of its students and doesn’t just talk the talk that it has been doing in the four years I’ve been here.”
“Senator Fitzgerald has done a phenomenal amount of leg work showing what the result of such a program can be and has shown that it works at other schools,” he said. “For us to truly call ourselves the Capstone of Higher Education, then we must adhere to such statements in all aspects of the students’ education, from the classroom to their extracurricular activities.”
Brown said that the Act comes down to intent versus practice.
“The intent of this act is great,” Brown said. “They raise a number of concerns that should be addressed and can unite this campus. But in practice we should not and do not have the ability to tax students more than they pay in tuition.”
