May issue.pdf - Wingspan

6Wi n g s pa ncampus newsMay 4, 2009lccc.wy.edu/wingspanBoard of TrusteesTrustees vote 4–3 to increase feesCampus expresses student fee concerns to boardOn April 15,he Board ofrustees’ meetingan nearlyour and a halfours. Duringhe meeting,tudents,taff and theommunityxpressed theironcerns for atudent fee hike.After nearlyfour and ahalf hours ofheated tesimonyfrom a nearecord turnout of stuents,employees andhe general public onpril 15, the Laramieounty Communityollege Board ofrustees voted 4–3 toaise student fees forhe fall semester.The meeting,hich started at 7.m. and had beenelocated earlier inhe day to a largeroom to accommoatethe nearly 100eople, was filledith commentsrom more than 20tudents, employesand residents ofheyenne.The approvedike consists of aew facilities fee of8 a credit hour to beharge up to 12 creditours. The fee wouldot be charged onredits taken above2 a semester.In mid-May, therustees will vote onn additional $4.50o be added to theurrent $10 technolgyfee, raising it to$14.50 a credit hour.The technologyfee has never beencharged on credits astudent takes over 12.The trustees alsovoted unanimouslyto recommendto the WyomingCommunity CollegeCommission that allexisting fees exceptthe new $8 a credithour facilities fee becharged to all enrolledcredit hours.Later, on April22, the WCCC votednot to consider theproposal. [See relatedstory on Page 7.]The LCCCAssociated StudentGovernment hadvoted against bothfee increases at ameeting on April 14.Currently, studentfees are $324 for fulltimestudents, whoare enrolled in 12credit hours or more.April 15’s voteraised student feesapproximately 30percent. If the hightechfee is approvedin mid-May, studentfees will increasean additional 17percent, bringing thetotal increase to 47percent, accordingto a spokesman inLCCC’s public relationsoffice.Ryan Archibald,Associated StudentGovernmentpresident, said,“In conversationswith Dr. [Jim] Roseof the WyomingCommunity CollegeCommission, he saidthe fee increaseshere—specifically thehigh-tech fee—increasessounded veryspecifically much liketuition increases indisguise and wouldnot be allowed by theCommunity CollegeCommission.”LCCC’s administrationplans touse the technologyfees to maintain the“Despite the need, rightnow a fee increase is toomuch for the studentsat LCCC to take on for a$7 million facility.”campus’s technological“backbone” andto use the facilitiesfees to renovate thecampus’s currentdining facilities anda portion of the residencehall.Those voting forthe facilities fee wereTom Bauman, TonyMendoza, GeorgeMcIlvaine and JohnKaiser, chairman.Those against wereBrenda Lyttle, BillDubois and GregThomas.Much of the testimonyApril 15 focusedon the new $8 a credithour facilities fee.The majority ofthe students whospoke said they weredispleased because:• The increasedcost would makeit more difficultto maintain collegeaffordabilityduring a time ofeconomic crisis;• The gap betweenthe priceof attendingthe Universityof Wyoming orChadron State andLCCC would benarrowed;• The increase taxesa small group tobenefit a largerone;• More conversationand study shouldRyan ArchibaldASG Presidenttake place in orderto identify otherrevenue streamsand possiblydivide the issueof remodeling thecafeteria from remodelingthe WestResidence Hall.Trustees whofavored the increasecited the followingreasons:• The combinationof low interestrates and lowconstruction costsmake it a goodtime to tackle the$7.1 million plan;• The studentassessedfeeprovides a steady,viable revenuestream to securebonds (loans);• The renovationsaddress safetyand health concernsand handlemaintenance nowrather than deferringthem whenit would be morecostly.Speaking againstthe fee hike, ASGPresident Archibaldsaid, “Despite theneed, right now a feeDominic BenintendeOpen mic night:Sher Warren, director of SageTrio, testified at the LCCC Boardof Trustees’ meeting on April 15.“Increasing tuition to every credithour means $300 per semester to mystudents, increased books, increasesin specific fees for specific courses—then to ask just 160 students at SageTrio to add an additional $150,”Warren said. “The fee hike does notfoster a climate supportive of theacademic success of low-incomestudents.”increase is too muchfor the students atLCCC to take on for a$7 million facility.”He continued,”On top of all this,students do not wantany fee increasewhatsoever becauseit’s difficult enoughto pay for school asit is.”Trustee Thomas,who said he thoughtthe time was right tobuild, disagreed with“asking the studentsto bear the cost” andinstead suggested“charging on anactivity or per usebasis” to use the diningfacilities.Trustee Lyttle, whosaid she was troubledby the lack of studentbody support butalso saw the need forremodeling, encouragedmore conversationsabout what isneeded in order togenerate consensus.“The comment I kepthearing was—‘It’s toomuch right now’—really hit home forme,” she said.She urged thetrustees to split thefacility fee proposalfrom dining facilityand residence hall.Dr. DarrelHammon, presidentof LCCC, told thetrustees the timeto act was now. “Itwould be appropriateand prudent andjudicious for us to doit now and not wait,”he said. “I just thinkany time we wait, it’sgoing to cost studentsmore money in thelong run.”In response tosuggestions that thetwo projects be split,Hammon explainedthat the bond holderswant a “specific,validated revenuestream,” which theadministration foundin the student-assessedfee.Trustee Baumanexpressed concernabout the health andwelfare especially incafeteria food preparation.“If my granddaughtercomes here,I don’t want her tocome home sickerthan a dog,” he said.Earlier, the trusteeshad seen video ofproblems in the diningfacility and olderresidence hall. Thevideo can be seenat LCCC’s Web siteunder About LCCC.Tiffany Razo andDominic Benintendecontributed to thisreport.