Student fees are always a hot topic during weekly Student Senate meetings, but this week, a new manner in which students will be forced to shell out money was brought to light.

Dedman I senator Kellie Spano introduced a piece of legislation that requested the elimination of fees for the usage of McFarlin Auditorium during ticketed events.

Students are allowed to hold events in the auditorium free of charge for non-ticketed events, but must pay for events that are ticketed, such as Sing Song and the Step Show. The dilemma with this, Spano said, is that the revenue for the ticketed events go directly to charities, therefore the cost of using the auditorium is paid directly out of student pockets.

“There’s a real student need to use that auditorium and they can’t afford it,” Spano said.
Spano met with McFarlin Auditorium director Alison Tweedy last semester to discuss ways in which the concern can be addressed.

Student Senate Secretary Peter Goldschmidt asked Spano if the legislation should also take into account the termination of extraneous expenses such as security. Spano suggested taking the process one step at a time by focusing on the usage fee first and addressing the extraneous expenses later.

“I definitely think that this is attainable,” Spano said. “I think that there should be no reason to charge the students, especially when they’re giving to a charitable organization, because that’s a wonderful thing.”

Student Body President Patrick Kobler says it’s too soon to know if the legislation will be passed.

“I think that all depends on who the next student body president, because the way our system works is that once legislation has passed, it’s up to that person, whether it is a he or a she, to go talk to Dr. White and Dr. Turner to convince them to change,” Kobler said.