During the summer, President Byrd called a meeting with myself and Student Body Vice President Kaela Phillips to discuss various goals for the year and give an update on the progress of our new student center. President Byrd informed us that the first priority on his list was, of course, students and second was raising the money for the new student center. He said he will spend a large portion of his time fund raising. President Byrd brought up a very valid point: the students should help as well.

President Byrd, Kaela, and I came to the conclusion that the best way for students to help out would be to raise the student activities fee, a fee every full-time student pays. Currently the fee is $218, of which part pays for the newspaper program in BSC, part pays for improvements for BSC, and a majority goes to the Student Government Association which then uses that money to provide full or partial funding to groups and organizations.

The three of us agreed that raising the activities fee to $318 and putting the extra money aside for the next 20 years would raise approximately three million dollars specifically for the new student center. Raising this money will also have many advantages for the students: It will give us a larger say in the building and designing process, enable us to give back to the Simpson community, and will hopefully speed up the ground-breaking process.

Toward the end of October, I plan on presenting to the Senate a resolution that asks the Board of Trustees to raise the student activities fee by $100 and that money be set aside for the new student center. Before that, however, I will hold two town-hall meetings which will be open to any student who wishes to voice his or her opinions. If there are immediate concerns, don’t be afraid to talk to your class senators or myself about this subject. We would all value your input. This is an excellent opportunity for us students to take a leading role in making Simpson a better college for those who follow us.

Dan Carver,

senior, Student Body President