Council asks board to hold off vote on fee
The Council of Chairs has spoken out against the proposed athletics fee.
By adopting a resolution Wednesday, the council asked the Board of Trustees to postpone action on the proposed $300 fee.
The council asked the board to wait until a general policy on fee development was in place in a unanimous vote, ensuring that one department would not receive special treatment.
“If, say, the College of Science (and Technology) wanted to levy a fee in a few years for new equipment and facilities, would they receive the same treatment the athletics department wants?” said Peter Orlik, chairman of the council.
The council is comprised of the chairperson from each department and meets once a month to discuss a variety of academic and campus issues.
An athletics fee — already in place at 10 of the 13 Mid-American Conference schools — would go toward deferred maintenance and renovation of existing facilities.
Money for those projects would no longer come from the general CMU maintenance fund.
“People in the athletics department said we need new turf for the football field, a new field hockey stadium, etc. but what about all the academic equipment needed?” Orlik said.
The chairs want the board to re-think the fee structure and make sure any proposed fee reflects the needs of everybody on campus.
“This should not be a one-shot deal,” said Orlik, chair of the broadcast and cinematic arts department.
Athletics Director Herb Deromedi refused to comment.
The trustees will discuss the fee for the first time in December. Board Chairwoman Melanie Foster said the fee needs to be researched more before any decision is reached.
“The board has to give a lot of thought and consideration to any proposed fees, especially given that we are looking at a 6 percent additional cut to funding this year,” Foster said.
Foster added that she is not sure how the board will vote on the fee, or if they will vote at all, but said there are a lot of considerations when a new fee is proposed.
“We need to look at the full context of this issue,” she said.
Sid Graham, chairman of the mathematics department, said the proposal of this fee raises questions about the entire fee structure at CMU.
“One of the things raised was the issue of attendance at football games and how the student section is only half-full,” he said. “It’s clear students don’t care that much about what division we are.”
Graham is sympathetic to the athletic department and understands the need for funding. However, he said there are financial issues in every department.
“I’d like to lay a mathematics fee on the student body, but there might be objections to that,” he said. “There needs to be guidance.”
