New Student Center at Sonoma State Would Add $1,200 to Four-Year Degrees

Some 400 Sonoma State University students would be forced to drop out of college, and 2,080 would have a major financial setback if a plan to build a new student center on campus is passed by the student body next Monday.

But, according to data compiled by a five-member research team of sociology students, the majority of the campus opposes the plan, which would tack on an additional $300 per year in tuition fees.

“Students oppose the … fee increase by a ratio of 4-1,” the report, published Friday, stated. “Students strongly support increasing class offerings as the number one priority for funding and believe that the SSU administration should rasie that money for building the new student center without raising student fees.”

The election is slated for April 11.

The proposed student center would be a central hub on campus that could house all dining services on campus, larger meeting spaces, offices for clubs and organizations and lounge areas for students. In addition, the campus bookstore will move into the building.

The fee increase will take effect for the fall 2012 semester, just a few months before the building is expected to be complete. The increase has some students worried, but Associated Students Inc., (ASI) President Bridgette Dussan believes that this center will be essential to building a stronger campus community.

“In times of uncertainty, it’s important to stay focused on the end goal, and a higher education institutes goal is creating and graduating college graduates and making sure they have a good experience,” she said.  “The student center can provide for years to come. We have to think about 20 years from now.”

The idea of a student center is not new, and those who support its building feel that it will give students a better quality of life on campus.

“I think SSU needs a student center because we don’t really have a lot of places to go in Rohnert Park, or even on campus,” said Nicole Pratt, ASI senator for arts and humanities. “There’s not really a lot for students to do, so if we were to open a student center, there would be a lot more for them to do and things open past midnight.”

In the last year, many performances, lectures and dances have been sold and and have had to turn students away due to limited capacity. The center, says Dussan, would meet the needs of a growing student population and allow more students to participate in programming.

“I think the student center is a great idea for this campus,” said Jessica Nezovich, a communications major. “But I do think that we should be setting classes and professors and everything that’s necessary to student life first before we add new structures to our campus. I think it’s a great contribution to our campus either way.”

Alongside student payments, which also fund the student recreation center, four main auxiliaries will foot the $60 million bill. Associated Students Inc., The Sonoma State Student Union Corporation, Housing Services and Sonoma State University Enterprises will each contribute substantial portions of the bill through rent payment according to Dussan.

Although the Student Center sounds appealing, many students are questioning whether now is the time to raise student fees another $300 per year when looming state budget cuts are threatening with higher tuition costs during difficult economic times.

“It’s not a huge increase, but it’s still $150 every semester,” said James Abriel. “It’s not like it’s just $150.”

Students would be forced to pay $1,200 for a bachelor's degree, if completed in four years. 

The California State University system will not fund any of the costs for the building. Government money cannot be spent on buildings that are not meant strictly for academic use. This is the reason why students are being asked to pay higher fees for the building.

“I don’t want to pay any extra money. I feel like the tuition rate are already way to high,” Abriel said.

The fate of the current facilities remain unknown, as the auxiliaries will committees to determine future use until it is known whether the referendum will pass or not.  If the referendum is approved, the separate auxiliaries that own each of the buildings and spaces will then decide what to do.

In the long run, Dussan hopes that the complex will help create a better atmosphere and better retention rate at Sonoma State University.

“We have to think about competition. We need to make sure we offer the best experience so students stay at Sonoma State,” she said.

The campus-wide survey published last week, in which the class randomly polled 333 students from March 15-April 1, indicated that Sonoma State administration officials should be able to raise the funding for the student center without increasing campus fees.

"We believe that this is true given the campus’s ability to raise $120 million for the Green Music Center over the past decade," it stated. 

Check out the video to the right to listen to what students think.

Editor's note: Professor Peter Phillips, who led the students in their research, is the director of Project Censored. He and the class released a statement of the student poll. It said that their confidence in the accuracy of the survey is high given that the survey is reflective of the overall student populations on campus, in terms of gender and ethnicity.

Angela Hart contributed to this report.

Download the movie