People can say a lot of things about the Price Center: that the automated paper towel dispensing machines are wasteful, that the restaurants are too expensive, that the lighting is too dark. It’s safe to say, though, that one of the loudest complaints about the Price Center is that it is just too crowded. On any given weekday from around noon to 2 p.m., the interior of the food court is bursting at the seams with crowds. Add a sprinkle or two of rain and the food court becomes a virtual bomb shelter for scampering students. If that isn’t problematic enough, imagine that in seven years the student population will bloat to some 30,000 — stuck with the same facilities. The University Centers Expansion and Renovation Fee Referendum seeks to remedy this problem and more, providing for much-needed space and conveniences that are far overdue.
The main gripes against the referendum seem to be centered around lack of student control and wasteful use of appropriated funds. However, the current expansion plan was a result of a comprehensive survey by 3,300 students who told the University Centers Expansion Task Force what they wanted. As a result, the proposed expansion will deliver many of the requests the students themselves contributed.
For example, anyone who has been to the post office during passing periods knows the need for a larger space. This new plan will address that need and many more. Low-cost healthy dining options and full service banks are also on the plan, and it is doubtful to find any student who cannot find a use for such additions. The actual referendum text itself states, “”a Building Advisory Committee, overseeing the planning, design, and construction of the expanded facility, shall have at least two-thirds students and shall be co-chaired by a student.”” If that’s not enough, the A.S. Council itself passed a resolution urging a “”Yes”” vote. As the voice of the undergraduate student body, this fact cannot be brushed off as mere politics.
As for wasteful use of funds, it is true that some of the money going toward the centers will probably not be used in the most orthodox ways, but it is likely that all the money will be used explicitly to serve the students. Students will see the improvements — it is not as if the added fee will be feeding the Regents with little to show for. As a nonstate funded entity, it is up to students to pay for the focal points on campus, the University Centers. By and large, the proposed improvements in the centers will benefit not only individual students but campus life as well. More seating, more offices for student organizations, a hairstylist, more study spaces — at a growing university, these services will prove essential to the well-being and quality of life on campus for all students.
So what is the tradeoff for all these improvements? Thirty-nine dollars a quarter, or $117 a year. In the midst of the state budget crisis, the Regents are coming increasingly closer to approving a $795 fee increase to compensate. Another $117 right now may seem awfully excessive in the light of such fiscal troubles. However — and this is integral to the expansion referendum debate — the fee will not be collected until 2007. That’s right, that’s a full four years from now.
Similar to the RIMAC construction a few years ago, the improvements and expansion will be fully completed before any fee is assessed. What this means is that the current student population may very well see the fruit of the referendum before any money is handed over. Most of us will not have to pay anything, but will be able to access many of the improvements. As for the students who do have to pay for it beginning in fall 2007 quarter, they will be amidst a much larger population that will see the justification for the accommodations even more than we do. And perhaps four years from now, the money crunch at the university will be less oppressive and students will not be faced with the continued cutbacks and tuition hikes that are currently being negotiated that make this fee so difficult for some to swallow.
UCSD is already starting to feel the growing pains of an explosion in student population, as each coming year seemingly tops the last in applications and is poised to continue for years to come. The housing mess this year shows the possible repercussions of lack of foresight on the part of the university. As such, improving areas of the campus which are tantamount to the vitality of student life — the University Centers — are increasingly important to accommodate the masses of students that will be gushing through Gilman Drive. An affirmative vote on the referendum will get started on this predicament right away. Regardless, however, of where students stand, it is important for them to sign onto StudentLink this week and vote. It may seem not to affect the livelihood of some students, especially older ones, but it is essential for the body as a whole to point the direction of the university in the students’ way. If you want student control — well, there it is.
