Weeks after Ohio University’s Board of Trustees voted in favor of a 3.5 percent tuition increase, Student Senate plans to add an option on the May ballot to include student input regarding tuition hikes.
Senate unanimously passed the resolution at its Wednesday meeting to put three questions regarding OU’s Budget Planning Council’s student involvement on the ballot. They include: “Do you feel there is enough student involvement on BPC?”; “Do you feel that student input and opinion are respected on BPC?”; and “Do you agree with the financial advice BPC has provided the Board of Trustees, inadvertently or directly provoking a tuition increase?”
Ohio Student Power worked with senate to get the resolution passed as soon as trustees voted on the tuition increase.
“This will allow students to have a direct voice in the issue rather than someone else,” said Jacob Chaffin, a junior studying education and Student Power organizer.
Chaffin met with Zach George, the resolution’s primary sponsor, to get it passed.
“This is a controversial issue, but it’s an issue that needs to let voices be heard,” said George, university life commissioner who is running for senate president under the REACH banner.
Compared with previous tuition increases, George said he believes this year’s was introduced faster and with less student involvement.
“This time around, it was, ‘We raise tuition or not at all,’ and I feel that this was handled very, very poorly,” George said.
The decision will now go to the Board of Elections to put it on the ballot, which will be discussed at Monday’s meeting, said Kate Steven, chair of the Board of Elections.
The resolution was signed by all of senate’s commissioners.
“I just hope this isn’t being rushed,” senate President Kyle Triplett said. “I hope students know what BPC is. I don’t think it’s a good thing if students are voting on something students aren’t informed on.”
Students also attended senate’s “speak-out” session to encourage senate members to vote in favor of the resolution.
“I don’t think it could ever be a bad thing to give students a right to vote on what affects them and the university, but in the future, let’s delve deeper into what’s really happening,” said Tyler Barton, a senior studying chemistry.
sj950610@ohiou.edu
