With 13 new organizations applying for Student Services Fees and many current recipients requesting more money, the Student Services Fees Committee must decide between denying requests and raising students’ bills. We urge them to protect students’ pocketbooks and be cautious in allocating fees money.

This semester, if you take six or more credits, you will pay $277.12 in Student Services Fees. The money goes, for instance, to cultural centers, the Coffman Union debt, Boynton Health Service and even the Daily. There is no limit to how much the fees committee can charge you – which is why this situation is dangerous.

Besides paying these fees, you will likely also pay more than $300 in other fees this semester (this doesn’t count the up to $400 in fees your individual college might assign). A College of Liberal Arts student will pay close to $1,400 in mandatory fees this school year.

That’s a lot of money, and the tuition hike is a lot. Coupled with increasing rent costs – assured to continue because of the “over-occupancy” crackdown – students are going further into debt to pay for school.

Now, of course, student fees pay for a lot of wonderful things. Most of us, and obviously those reading this, have derived some benefit from them. But there is

a never-ending trail of noble things fees can pay for. How much is enough? What cost are these benefits worth? How much value does the average student garner from what he or she pays in fees?

These are tough questions, but with the increasing demand for your money, they must be considered. At this point, we don’t want to say whom we think should receive funds and how much they should get. This is something the fees committee will consider after careful investigation.

We encourage you, however, to tell them what entities you think are important and how much you’re willing to pay for their services or programs.