Students vote to remove $7 fee from registration forms after 25 years
Andrea Royals
-News Editor-
The election results for the Missouri Public Interest Research Group (MoPIRG) Reaffirmation were ratified by the Student Governance Council (SGC) on March 23. Students voted for the $7 removable fee paid to MoPIRG at the time of class registration each semester to be taken off registration forms.
The fee funds the presence of MoPIRG on the STLCC-Meramec campus. MoPIRG has existed at Meramec for 25 years.
A total of 548 students voted in the reaffirmation election, resulting in a 328 percent increase in voter turnout since the last reaffirmation in 2008.
The number of students who voted for option one, to maintain the current waived $7 fee on student registration forms, was 105. The number of students who voted for a voluntary fee was 181, and a total of 262 students voted to remove the fee.
Mike Roman, president of SGC, said he was pleased with the voter turnout.
“I was hoping for a 10 percent voter turnout increase since 2008,” he said, “But I’ll take 328 percent.”
The three-option ballot had been a concern for the members of SGC, as it did not adhere to the ballot language provided by the board of trustees that called for only two options for campus organization elections.
The decision to include the voluntary $7 option was upheld by members of SGC at the March 2 meeting.
“[SGC] was right for leaving option two on [the ballot],” said Roman. “With 181 people voting for [option two], it goes to show it is a valid option.”
The validity of option two had been extensively debated by members of MoPIRG and NOpirg, as it is unclear if the second option voters preferred to remove or maintain the fee.
Student Kyle Swift said he voted for option two because it was a compromise between one and three. If the election had provided only a two-option ballot, Swift said he would have voted to remove the fee.
“Option two keeps MoPIRG on campus and it is easier for people to take [the fee] off,” Swift said. “I would have voted for option three because option one is hard to deal with [while registering online]. If MoPIRG is going to force us to pay, then I’d vote not to.”
Roman said the success of option three was a result of extensive campaigning efforts headed by NOpirg, a campus organization dedicated to removing the fee from registration forms.
“A lot of hard work went into this campaign,” Roman said. “NOpirg had a lot of people canvassing and I think that had a big effect.”
Steven Vollenweider, president of NOpirg, and Sarah Clader, MoPIRG campus organizer, canvassed the Meramec campus for 14 hours the days of the election.
“Electioneering was difficult at times, but it was worth it to inform the student body of the way their money is being used,” said Vollenweider. MoPIRG collected $70,000 from Meramec students this past year.
Vollenweider said that the results are a victory for the campus. “This is a large step toward the future of our college and hopefully we can continue with the services our campus truly needs,” Vollenweider said.
Roman said SGC is currently addressing issues of public interest on STLCC campuses through the District Student Interest Committee (DSIC). The committee is exploring options that would maintain child care services at the Meramec and Forest Park campuses and provide preventative health services for students across the district by implementing a mandatory fee on registration forms.
MoPIRG may maintain its presence on campus and continue with campaign efforts for Pell Grants, public transit, global warming, and hunger and homelessness on the condition that the organization’s funding is not provided through a student fee.
“We’re not saying, ‘MoPIRG, get off our campus,’” said SGC vice president Safia Madani at the last council meeting. “If MoPIRG wants to be here, they have to provide their own funding.”
