- California State Student Association (CSSA) plans to create system-wide fee.
The California State Student Association (CSSA), a nonprofit student association that represents the California State University (CSU) system on the state and national level, is working to implement a system-wide fee that would provide funding for the organization.
The fee, which is currently being discussed with CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, is estimated to be approximately $1 per person and would provide consistent funding for CSSA.
CSSA is recognized as the official voice of all 23 CSU campuses, and currently receives funding solely from university memberships. Each CSU has the choice of whether or not to be a part of CSSA and pays a yearly base fee on top of the 60 cents per student to maintain membership. Though membership fluctuates from year to year, all 23 campuses are currently members.
The Chancellor is only one step in the process to getting the fee approved. CSSA’s “Stability Plan” maps out the year-by-year timeline that the group plans to take in order to implement the fee.
From November 2010 to now, the goal was to talk to Reed and work with him to approve the fee. If that didn’t work, the organization planned to sponsor legislation in order to pass the fee. And if that failed, members intended to seek implementation through student referendums in Spring 2012.
Despite the timeline, CSSA is still working with Reed to implement the system-wide fee.
Cal Poly Associated Students Inc. (ASI) President Kiyana Tabrizi said she doesn’t necessarily disagree with the proposition, but she does disagree with the approach CSSA is taking to enact the fee.
“We want a system-wide fee in order to fund this organization to speak on behalf of students and fight for students,” Tabrizi said. “But we, Cal Poly ASI, think there’s a right way to do it, and we don’t think that going through legislation is right. We don’t think it makes sense. And we don’t think asking the Chancellor makes sense.”
Tabrizi said she believes the only right way to go about implementing a system-wide fee is to ask the students their opinion.
“First of all, it makes us look pretty naïve and not very politically savvy if we’re against all fees, but we want one for (CSSA),” she said. “We have to be smarter about that. And secondly, I think one of the fears is that if we ask the students on every campus, students might say ‘No.’”
Tabrizi would rather present the information gathered from a student referendum to the Chancellor, whether positive or negative, and let him make the decision, she said.
CSSA Executive Director Miles Nevin disagreed. He said he doesn’t feel going to students is the best route.
“Students don’t know what CSSA is,” Nevin said, “so how is CSSA going to go to each campus and try to run 23 referenda and try to get those passed?”
Being afraid that students will say “No” is not a valid reason and should only fuel CSSA to make students more aware of the organization, Tabrizi said.
“I tell them all the time, we might be scared, but that should just fuel us to present our message as well as we can and to be available to students to get (them) to realize the importance of this and how far a little investment can go,” she said.
Other CSU campuses share Tabrizi’s opinion of going through a student referendum, though, and have threatened to stop being part of the organization, Tabrizi said.
ASI President-elect Katie Morrow also said a referendum makes the most sense, and she plans to continue pushing for one after Tabrizi leaves, she said.
Cal Poly ASI created a resolution and submitted it to the organization. The resolution states ASI is in support of CSSA and knows funding is a key component of their effectiveness.
“We are committed to a system-wide fee if it’s passed through student referendum by a majority of students on a majority of campuses,” Tabrizi said.
Amber Diller contributed to this article.