To the Editor:
I am writing this to talk about the question concerning a possible increase in the Student Activities Fee for 2002-03. The USM students will be voting on a decision to pass this motion at the Student Senate elections on April 9 and 10.
I am in favor of this increase for many reasons.
I am the Chair of the Portland Events Board at USM and my responsibilities are to do programming and events for USM students. My budget is solely from the Student Activities fund. My budget in the last few years has been drastically cut and will be cut again this year.
I will be graduating, so this doesn’t directly affect me. I am writing to let the students know what an important change this could make to the college experience here at USM. I have been working hard on a show for USM since last November and have struggled to get funds for the event. With this increase we could begin competing with larger schools and bring big shows and events to this campus.
There is a serious imbalance between academics and the campus experience and one of the major reasons is the fact that there isn’t enough water in the well. If students want more than just classes, including big shows and events, vote yes on this question. If they want less activities on campus and a virtually all-academic university, vote no. People always say nothing good happens on campus. Lets make that something of the past.
Sincerely,
Jon Taylor
Portland Events Board Chair
University of Southern Maine