Word: uc
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...that time that I also discovered this organization, of which I was scarcely aware, had claimed an optional $75 fee from my termbill. I was confused—no one had ever asked if I wanted to pay this fee. I checked the termbill Web site. It explained the UC fee as an optional “fee of $75 added to all College students’ bills” that funds “student groups and support the activities of the Undergraduate Council...
...theory, the collection of this fee seems like a great opportunity to support a genuinely pro-student organization. But in practice, certain aspects of the fee’s collection actually undermine the UC’s representative mission. The UC has a responsibility to educate students about the nature of their annual contributions, and make sure there are no undue barriers to opting out of paying them. The failure to do so could seriously damage the UC’s legitimacy as a unique advocate for all undergraduates...
...UC derives a lot of its credibility from the fact that students fund it by choice, not compulsion. However, it has become progressively become more difficult to opt of the fee over the past few years. In 2006, one only needed to click a link the termbill Web site in order to opt out of the fee. By 2007, that link disappeared. Instead, one had to write an email explaining why he or she did not want to pay the $75. Moreover, by 2008 one had to handwrite that same letter and send it to the Student Receivables Office. There...
...Some may argue that sending an email or a handwritten letter to the Student Receivables Office is not an extremely difficult task. These people would miss the point. The UC shouldn’t look on in silence while the administration limits their constituency’s freedom with regard to the fee’s payment. Such quiet complicity makes the Council appear desperate for funding, and happy to wrest money from students who otherwise wouldn’t want to pay. The UC constitution claims that it represents the entire undergraduate student body, not just students who fund...
...Moreover, the information surrounding the option to opt out of paying the fee is quite inconsistent. This year’s Handbook for Students defines the UC fee and describes the opt-out process as “checking the appropriate box” on one’s July student bill. However, the termbill Web site explains that students must handwrite a letter and send it to the Student Receivables Office by September 30th. The printed information in the Handbook for Students mentions no such cut-off date and nothing about a letter. Having to fact-check the Handbook...