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Seniors are getting their money back. A fee of $1.75 per credit hour was added to each student’s bill for the spring 2001 semester under the assumption that the Memorial Union expansion would be open in March. The Union will not be open until fall 2001, which means this year’s graduating seniors will not see a functional union.
And now they will not be paying for it.
Robert Duringer, vice president for Finance and Administration said graduating seniors will each get a refund of $20 to $23, depending on how many credit hours each student is taking. While this may not seem like a lot of money for each student, the 16 percent of revenue collected from the seniors adds up to about $35,000 of the $175,000 total collected through the union fee.
“But it’s a very visible 16 percent,” Duringer said.
Kamal Shannak, vice president of student government said while the money is noticeable, so are the seniors who about to become alumni.
“The seniors are a big part of this university,” he said. “We don’t want them to leave angry at UMaine.”
Shannak met with Fred Odera, student government president; Richard Chapman, vice president of Student Affairs; Dwight Rideout, assistant vice president and dean of Students and Community Life and Duringer Monday morning to discuss the rebate.
“I wish every single student had been with me at that meeting,” Shannak said.
He said the administrators were cooperative and open to his and Odera’s ideas.
“This was a matter they had already discussed, so they had already encountered the issue,” Odera said. “Basically we were debating the fairness of getting a rebate for the seniors because they are not going to see a completed Union.”
Shannak said members of Student Government did not believe it was fair to charge students for services they would never use.
“Our mission going in was getting the seniors their money back,” Shannak said. “We didn’t believe they should pay for something they weren’t going to be around to see.”
Rideout said no decision could be made during the meeting Monday, but the issue would be decided later this week. Moving quickly, it was decided in a meeting yesterday afternoon between Duringer, Chapman and Peter Hoff, president of the UMaine. Odera said Duringer and Chapman were charged with making the student’s case before Hoff.
“The president has the final say on just about everything,” Duringer said.
Odera was told shortly before last night’s General Student Senate meeting.
“We got word today from President Hoff and it’s final,” Odera said to the GSS. “The seniors are going to get their money back.”
One of the issues of contention in Monday’s meeting was the reaction of other students.
“It leaves the freshmen, sophomores and juniors saying `What about us?” Duringer said.
If the administration was to refund all the students’ union fees, it would be a rebate of about $175,000. Duringer said this shortfall would come out of the furnishings budget and would ultimately hurt union aesthetics. He said the $35,000 being refunded to seniors would probably be recouped from other sources.
“I don’t think it would hurt a lot,” he said. “I think I can get Campus Living and The Bookstore to give donations.”
Shannak said he did not push the issue of giving a full refund to all students, and it was not an issue other students had spoken to him about.
“The administration came out and said it would cost $175,000 plus, and it would effect the quality of the union we are going to see,” he said. “[The seniors] won’t see it, so they deserve it.”
Shannak said he didn’t pursue a full rebate because he does not want to see administrators blaming any shortfalls the furnishing on such a rebate. The delay has been enough of a disappointment.
“Everybody’s been cheated somehow, been lied to somehow,” Shannak said.
