Sitting in the Reitz Union yesterday, I was approached by a student senator who encouraged me to sign a petition in favor of a “small fee” that would favor a new student union. He assured me that the fee would “only be a couple of dollars” and that I would be leaving a legacy for future Florida students.
Implementing a $20 fee plus a per credit hour fee is outrageous in light of cuts to Bright Futures. The Reitz Union is not going to collapse tomorrow, and there are empty seats in the union. If Student Government is so concerned about rebuilding a crucial aspect of student life, why is it funding a group that can afford to pay as much as $85,000 for a sub-par speaker (Jeremy Piven)?
Every time a building is pronounced “defunct,” the solution is not to build multi-million-dollar structures funded by students already under crucial financial strains. In essence, the rebuilding of the Reitz Union is an altogether irresponsible and unnecessary endeavor.
