By Rozen Man Pradhan
Staff Writer, ‘11

Even before the meeting began, Student Body president Joseph Ferraro had to tell the masses that descended upon the Degnan Room that they must be silent until the open forum. Among all the students that were present in that room, I do not believe that a single one was there to hear the class reports or the club ratifications. There was one and only one thing in everyone’s mind – the Student Activity Fee.

For those of you who do not know what the student activity fee is, here is a brief introduction. Every year, the student senate is allotted a certain amount of money to conduct various activities on and off campus for the benefit of the students. This money is then divided among the various student organizations. In total, we have a little over a hundred thousand dollars this year. Now, considering the dire state that the economy is in, its impact has been felt around school as well, and the money for these organizations has shrunk considerably. To counter this, the Student Senate has made a proposal of charging each full time student a set amount of a hundred dollars a semester as the student activity fee. Now, this is money that is directly under the control of the student representatives, money that cannot be touched by the school.  You do the math. Roughly, it comes out to be over three hundred thousand dollars a year.

The E-board members made their usual reports but the tension was palpable. The senators looked nervous at the new audience that was now observing them, listening to them, scrutinizing every word they said. I could clearly see the restlessness on everyone’s face. The proposal for the Student Activity Fee was finally put forth and before my eyes began the most heated and fiercely battled student discussion of all time at Saint Peter’s College.

Dean Turchio provided a brief insight on the subject and talked about how the Student Activity fee had helped transform student life while he was dean at Pace University. He also talked about the dire financial state of the college and how the money allocated for student activities would definitely decrease. After this, the floor was open to senators for discussion. The first to speak was sophomore class senator Paul Lazaro. Senator Lazaro was distinctly against the idea of a student activity fee. He said, “Increasing the budget does not tackle the root of all issues in this college. It is not that the money isn’t there, it is being misspent.” “We do not have a budget problem. We have a leadership problem.” These were the exact words used by senator Lazaro when addressing the issue of funds being misspent. He went on to quote senior class Christopher DePizzo and said, “Ultimately, it comes down to two things - Who can use my money better? Me or a student organization?”

Senator Lazaro was faced with strict opposition from both, President Ferraro and Dean Turchio.

President Ferraro reiterated that we did not have a leadership problem. He claimed that the e-boards of the student organizations could do better but we certainly did not have a leadership problem. Dean Turchio followed suit by saying that if this fee was charged, students would not have to worry about paying money for attending any campus event. The students would not have to choose which events to attend due to lack of personal spending money.

Senior class senator Christopher Zullo talked about how this would help the transform Saint Peter’s from a commuter school to a residence school. He went on to say that the senior class senators were all vouching for this fee to be implemented. They had been in this school long enough and they all feel that the student life on campus can be radically transformed using this money.  Senior class senator Christopher DePizzo added, “Maybe the plan is rough, but the idea is right. You need to pay to play.” He said this in order to address the many resident students who claim that there is nothing to do on campus.

Many of the other senators participated in the discussion as well but everyone waited for one and one thing only – the open mic. And as the floor was finally opened for student discussion, hands started flying towards the sky all around the room. A number of junior and senior students voiced their support for this fee. Then, senior Ismael Cid Martinez, supported by LASO president Noel Borges, was handed the floor and he made a compelling argument against the student activity fee. He talked about the economic hardships faced by many of the students. He talked about how he could use those two hundred dollars to buy books for his class, two hundred dollars that may not mean a lot for some students but a large sum for many others.

However, junior Gary Young made another convincing argument on how this fee would help the students and the school as a whole. He said that this was the time to get aggressive and invest, invest in education as a whole and not just academics. He also addressed the issue regarding student loans and said that two hundred dollars would not really break the bank considering that the student has tens of thousands of dollars in loans. But, these two hundred dollars would completely change the quality of life of students. Many others spoke after this and everyone listened intently, their eyes firmly planted to the faces of one speaker after another. And I stood there, listening to one student after another, the enthusiasm in their voices, and the concerns in their mind. But underneath all the bickering and the tension, something beautiful happened that night - for the first time ever, students of this small college assembled together and exercised their right to speech. Even more, students of this small college actually cared for something and showed a genuine interest in the college’s proceedings.

The Student Activity Fee - Many claim that it will completely change the quality of life on our campus. Others argue that it is a waste of money, money that the students do not have in the first place. The Student Senate is expected to vote on the issue during the next Student Senate Meeting on the 18th of February.