Any time we want to raise our own tuition, there are strict rules governing what we can do with the extra money. First, the referendum language passes in A.S. Council. Then, if approved by the student body, the collected money must be spent on exactly what the referendums language dictates. This restriction lasts in perpetuity, unless the referendum is superseded by a new approved referendum. For example, the $7 quarterly PULSE referendum stated that 43 percent of the money must be used for the SPACES budget. This protects their annual budget from being reallocated by the A.S. Council.

We didn’t start collecting an annual $3.3 million in student fees overnight. In 1997, students paid $6 each in student fees. Since then, our student body has approved nine referendums. But each referendum comes with its own stipulations. The reason we’re voting on a $1 increase in student fees in Spring Quarter is because a 1988 referendum said A.S. Council would give 65 cents per quarter to the college councils. Around 2006, council gaffed and allocated the college council money to other A.S. services. The $1 referendum would make amends for Council’s failure to honor the 1988 referendum stipulations.

In Spring Quarter, we’re also voting on a referendum to increase funding to University Centers by $11 per quarter. While University Centers desperately needs more money to maintain its services, I don’t necessarily agree with the language that will forever dictate how that money will be spent. Clauses guaranteeing a 24-hour study space and re-opening the Craft Center are student friendly. But if the referendum passes, University Center’s programming for undergraduates will be cut by around $60,000 per year to put on events geared towards graduate students. The GSA didn’t demonstrate to A.S. Council that grad students need such a big boost in funding. Unfortunately, A.S. Council didn’t have the cojones to stick it to GSA on this point, so the referendum we’re faced with promises mixed outcomes.

While it is silly that students can’t dip into the SPACES reserves when they underspend for a year, mandated allocations are a double-edged sword. They have the potential to prevent future Councils from cutting other services students love. I support the idea of a Sun God referendum to ensure that no future A.S. Council decreases the budget we drop on Sun God. This wouldn’t necessarily increase student fees if it merely superseded prior referendums. Similar referendums could protect things like Safe Rides and Triton Tide. With A.S. elections around the corner, maybe it’s something you should ask the candidates about when you inevitably get accosted on Library Walk.