Students have long advocated for better wellness and recreation services on campus. According to Campus Recreation, “when surveyed in the fall of 2023, 91% of students indicated that a new facility should be a high priority for CSUSM.”
Last semester, the “Be Well. Be You.” campaign proposed a Wellness and Recreation facility near the QUAD that would have raised Recreation student fees to $265 per semester. However, this did not pass after a campus-wide student fee referendum. 60% of students voted against the proposal, even though only 10% of the student population voted — a clear sign of students’ dissatisfaction with the proposal.
This Fall, Campus Recreation launched a new campaign for the facility, this time with some slight changes. The “Vote for U” fee referendum would increase total Recreation fees to $245 per semester once the facility opens. This fee would then increase by 3% per year to adjust for inflation. (For an in-depth voter’s guide and pamphlet, visit Campus Recreation’s “Vote for U” campaign website.)
Next week, students will decide if the adjustments made in this new proposal are worth the drastic fee increase. According to Campus Recreation, “Online voting will begin at 7:00 am on Monday, October 21 and be open until 5:00 pm on Wednesday, October 23. Ballots will be emailed to eligible students via their university-registered email addresses. An authentication survey link will be featured on the referendum website during voting dates. All matriculated students who pay the Recreation Fee are eligible to vote.”
Last semester, I raised many concerns about this proposal, including unreasonably high student costs, leased land, and niche services — like E-sports, Yoga, and pickleball courts — that would be funded by all students regardless of who uses them. This is especially concerning given CSUSM’s ethos as a commuter school, making the facility a hard sell for those who prefer gyms and activities closer to home.
Given the swift manner CSUSM has brought forward another referendum, we should ask ourselves: Why are we voting again so soon after last semester’s failed initiative? And why should students be expected to pay for the facility?
Just last April students voted against effectively the same proposal. What is new enough to make students change their minds now? On CSUSM’s Reddit, many expressed such concerns:
“They’re voting on this again? Students already decided last semester that they didn’t want this.”
“They are already making bank off parking alone ridiculous.”
“Who in the right mind would want to pay that much tf.”
“I’m not even sure will I use that facility considering it located next to QUAD [sic].”
Yet even this framing is somewhat problematic, considering that the CSU has stockpiled a nearly $8 billion reserve fund and the Chancellor receives practically a $1 million per year income. This fee referendum is yet another example of public universities charging outrageous fees in order to cover the state’s deficit and service immense debts owed to financial institutions. Just last month, students at CSU Sacramento saw their fees raised by about $500 beginning next year, bringing their total fees to about $1,500 per semester, almost half the amount of their tuition. CSUSM students should be wary of this trend and quick to resist such fee increases.
Students should not be expected to pay exorbitant fees for a facility just because they expressed support for it. CSUSM’s dogged pursual of student fees under the guise of meeting students’ needs is a tone-deaf act of selective popularism that ignores the more pressing concerns students have. Cost-of-living weighs heavily on students’ minds, and it is inconsiderate to raise student fees for this facility when students are more concerned about housing, tuition, income, parking permits, and groceries.
This is alarming given the 34% tuition increase for CSU students over the next five years. (And besides, we were never meant to pay tuition at CSU schools!)
Ironically, a campus that prides itself on social mobility does not think such a massive student fee increase would be of great concern to students. So, does this proposal have students’ best interests in mind? And why are students expected to pay for the facility in the first place?
Furthermore, voting last semester raised serious concerns. On April 9 at 6:34 AM, an email was sent to all eligible students about the referendum. This email explained the referendum and how voting was set to begin at 7AM. 30 minutes later, the electronic ballot appeared as follows:
Notice how nothing in the email clearly states how it is the voter’s ballot. The only information provided was that voting had begun, followed by a “survey” link.
Once voters took the “survey” — that is to say, cast their ballots — they received this email:
It goes without saying that this was horribly misleading and likely resulted in less students voting. Despite this, students still managed to vote down the proposed facility, even given the low voter turnout and questionable polling method.
If students do not want this fee referendum to succeed, they must make their voices heard. You can find more information about voting here and see the table below for a list of upcoming on-campus events. Be sure to cast your ballot on Oct. 21-23!