Rules are made to be changed

Students paying for spring semester might be stunned to find their mandatory fee has doubled to $150.

Student Government Association (SGA) President Tamer Amer said that he and other members of the Student Advisory Council (SAC) were surprised to find out about the increase at their Nov. 6-7 meeting with the Board of Regents (BoR).

When the BoR approved the original fee in December 2008, then-SGA President Somi Benson-Jaja led the call for a resolution opposing the fee and the way the BoR went about its implementation. The SGA's main point of contention was that the BoR waived its own policy that any proposal to increase mandatory fees must first be presented to a council at least 50 percent composed of students.

On June 9 the board responded and revised its policy.

Section 704.021 of The Policy Manual now reads that fee increase proposals shall be presented to that student council, "except in special circumstances when a general purpose fee is instituted system-wide by the Board of Regents."

This time, if members of the SGA chooses to pass another resolution, they will have to focus on something other than the BoR simply breaking their own rules, which was the SGA's strongest point against the fee's creation.

The BoR said in a press release that the increase in the mandatory fee is in response to a sky-rocketing student population in concert with more rounds of budget cuts.

The University of California's BoR recently saw the effects sizeable tuition hikes have on a student body whose voice in the legislative process has been silenced. Students protested to make sure they were heard.

Despite the near riot situation, the board approved the 32 percent hike, so it would be easy to say that the students' actions had no effect.

It would also be wrong.

Change does not happen overnight, but those students held the California BoR's feet to the fire.

Representatives uttered phrases such as, "In the future," or, "Next time." They know that the recession fallout is far from over and they will need to make difficult decisions again.

And they know the next time they need a cash cow, their knee-jerk reaction to milk the students will not go over so easy.

Georgia's population does not seem disposed to protesting the government or its representatives, but AASU's SGA did just that along with other student governments across the state.

It is important enough to whom the SGA represents to let the BoR know that it is accountable for its actions and that students will not look the other way while back-door motions are passed.

Doubling a $75 fee is not as harsh as the $2,500 California students recently protested, but the BoR showed with its June 9 meeting that there is zero interest in student input.

Students do not have a choice but to pay the fee if they hope to continue with their higher education at AASU, but that does not mean they also do not have a voice.

Perhaps a reduction in Georgia lotto profits or special-interest taxes could help maintain state schools, which after all, are attended by citizens who generally hope to become productive, tax-paying employees or business owners.

Protest is not always chains on doors, marches and riot police. Pick up a pen, pull out the laptop or make a phone call: let the BoR and your representatives know that students and education should be priorities in Georgia.

Tell Georgia to look for revenue sources that do not raid students' already meager checking accounts.

Just like the BoR, you can change the rules.