Dean of the College Richard Feldman proposed a controversial $25 transportation line item fee to the Students’ Association Senate last Monday, March 29.
The fee would be included as a separate part of tuition for all undergraduate students at UR.
Prior to Monday, Feldman presented this proposal to a group of student government leaders.
The transportation fee would go directly to a fund that would potentially be used to fund buses for entertainment and convenience purposes. One bus line that falls under this category is the Green Line, which travels to popular student destinations, such as the Marketplace Mall and Wegmans, among others. In addition, the portion of the Red Line that travels to Park Avenue would also fall under this category.
New budget constraints have led to proposed restrictions on such recreational transportation, and the fee would go toward keeping these lines up and running.
In order to further explore the nature of this additional transportation fee, a committee will be created that includes faculty and student members; these committee members will provide the UR with important information and reactions regarding the operation efficient and frequency of the buses. Feldman assured that this committee will have strong student representation so that the concerns from the students will be voiced to the College.
‘Understandably, no one is happy about a new charge,” Feldman said. ‘All the students were eager to maintain the bus lines, and to improve them where possible. I think that some of the students appreciate the value of having a separate fee along with a fund over which students would have a substantial degree of control. If we were to include the costs of the Green Line in tuition charges, then students would have less control over the use of these funds and there is a greater risk that the funds would at some point be diverted to other uses.”
SA President and senior Eric Weissmann has doubts on whether the funds for this transportation fee will be used in the best interest of the student body.
‘I am not opposed at face-value to the concept of a fee, but I want to first see the accountability of that money,” Weissmann said. ‘I think the reason that so many students are unhappy with a transportation fee is because students have not been happy with their ability to communicate with parking and transportation [in the past].”
The reaction from some of the student body is more negative, as students try to figure out if this fee will enhance or take away from their experience at UR.
‘I left [New York City] to avoid having to pay for transit to go to school, so no thanks,” freshman Akaira ‘Kai” Young said.
‘I just feel like any increase to tuition is extortion, it’s [already] so expensive to go here,” freshman Jonathan Peralta said. ‘I mean $25 to go to the mall is excessive.”
The time sensitivity of this proposed transportation fee has caused administrators to quickly start evaluating the proposal.
‘We have already met with Dean Feldman who was very open to our concerns, and truly wants to create the outcome that will reflect the preference of the majority of the student body,” SA senator and senior Ryan Mills said. ‘Currently, we will continue to work with administrators to brain storm more effective ideas.”
It is uncertain if this fee will be enacted by next year or not, but both administrators and student leaders will continue to work to find middle ground between budget restraints and transportation accessibility.
