By Michael Benveniste
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 10, 1997

Union renovation should exclude frivolous extras

Editor:

As a member of ASUA, I feel that this referendum is clearly a mistake. The reason for this is due to the very fact that the document is ambiguous (which is what most political proposals seem to be). I agree that a fee is necessary because the Student Uni on needs renovations, but there are several 'frills' on the referendum that might not be needed (such as more restaurants or places to do your banking, even more computer labs). These things are nice but not imperative at this time. If a fee is going to b e given, it has to be an accurate amount for the most important things (such as new fixtures to replace old ones, a new paint job, replacing carpet, cleaning up and reorganizing space in the Student Union that currently exists) and the extra items should come later.

Students, such as myself, are paying a lot of money to pay tuition and come to this school. Tuition is continuing to rise, and if there is going to be a referendum on student renovation than the price that each student will pay every semester must reflect on the 'most important' changes to the Union, not the frills right now. The payments on the students must be gradual and not thrown on them to deal with. That is irresponsible and unfair. Another good idea is having other people (besides the students) he lp pay for the Student Union on a day to day basis. This is a team effort by the entire university community. I hope the students who read this letter understand my logic and give me feedback.

Michael Benveniste
Political science/ communications junior