TAA Endorses "No" Vote on Segregated Fee Increase

At last week’s General Membership Meeting, the assembled membership took up the issue of the impending referendum to raise Segregated Fees to build a new Natatorium on campus.

The University has proposed increasing Segregated Fees, already over $500 per semester and $1000 per year, by over $100 per year in order to pay for a capital building project that would construct a new Natatorium on campus. This increase in Segregated Fees would begin in 2013. A referendum vote on this proposal to raise Segregated Fees will take place on April 12-14. [For some campus newspaper coverage and comments, take a look here.] For many of the people voting on this potential increase in Segregated Fees — with the exception of grad students — the proposed raise in costs will never affect their wallets. The referendum has been constructed to be voted upon now, to be paid for later.

After educational workshops early in the General Membership Meeting and discussion on the floor, the assembled TAA membership voted on what position the TAA would take on the referendum. The General Membership voted to endorse a “NO” vote on the referendum to increase Segregated Fees.

In the coming days, we will be putting together a campaign around the “NO” vote on the Seg Fee increase referendum as part of our longer-term work to take on the issue Segregated Fees. Stay tuned for more information.