Starting today, graduate students will vote on whether Graduate Student Association fees should be mandatory, and much like the undergraduate vote in September, they will also decide whether to increase the fee for the first time in four years.
This year, the Graduate Student Association has proposed a $9 increase that would bring the total fee to $48 per semester.
The vote will continue through Friday, with polling places in the GSA office in the Student Union and in Harriman Hall.
As set by the SUNY Board of Trustees, the GSA activity fee - which every graduate student pays each semester - must be voted on every four years. If the increase passes, it will be the first time in eight years that the GSA fees are hiked, according to GSA President Xun Liu.
The last time graduate students voted in 2000, the fees were actually lowered because of a surplus that existed in the GSA budget.
According to Liu, rising costs of services, coupled with inflation, have made the recently proposed increase necessary.
"The surplus that has existed in past years has been used up, by funding existing services as well as expanding our services," said Liu, a Ph.D. candidate in political science.
"The services and programs that are provided by the GSA cannot be provided if this fee isn't raised. So rather than cut funding or create a deficit, we ask that graduate students approve this raise."
Christopher Barlow, a graduate student in geography, said he supports the fee increase because the GSA would be unable to function if the fees became voluntary.
"A vote for a voluntary fee system would effectively end departmental GSA funding and render the GSA a skeleton organization," said Barlow, who writes for The Quill. "Without these fees, funding would be drastically reduced and the services provided to students would be gutted."
According to Barlow, GSA provides funding to over 120 clubs and organizations, including departmental and international clubs. GSA also offers conference funding, binding services, events planning, academic support, and editing services for graduate students.
According to Liu, many of these programs have grown exponentially in the past four years, and the increase is necessary to maintain them.
Liu also said it's important that graduate students be informed about the vote and that they participate. In 2000, only 274 out of about 7,000 graduate students voted.
"We put out a special edition of The Quill and I've personally sent a number of emails to graduate students trying to inform them of the issues at hand," Liu said. "It's absolutely necessary that the students visit the polls this week because this is an issue that affects each and every one of them."
Mustafa Sever, a graduate student in education, said he believes the fees should remain mandatory, but the increase should not be passed.
"I think that at this point, the GSA needs to be conserving and using the funds that it has instead of spending its money on frivolous services," Sever said. "I don't think the GSA needs the extra money."
Other students, like John Muschamp, think the fees are necessary but don't see the increase having a large impact on graduate students.
"If it keeps the services that are offered available, then why not raise the fee? A $9 increase wouldn't kill me, I probably spend about that much on lunch," Muschamp said.
Liu added he believes graduate students are getting their money's worth from the services the mandatory fee covers.
"The graduate students really get what they pay for with these fees," he said. "From the use of the Sub-Board pharmacy to the academic assistance we offer, the students get their money back as they use the services that these fees pay for."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
