On Feb. 23, an election was conducted on the campus of California Lutheran University to determine the new ASCLU Executive Cabinet. The election also included a vote on Article X.

According to the Constitution of Cal Lutheran, Article X states that the current student fees will be raised an extra $12.50 or as was advertised, the price of Netflix. This comes to a total of $262.50 a semester and $525 an academic year. This increase in tuition will allow more money into the budgets of many different organizations on campus.

The increase of the budget will be allocated into the Executive Cabinet with 9 percent, Student Clubs and Organizations with 25 percent, Student Life with 28 percent, Senate with 10 percent, Programs Board with 20 percent, Multicultural Programs with 5 percent, and the Forrest Fitness Center with 3 percent.

Members of ASCLU said they believe Article X will have a positive impact.

“The increase in funding will be used by each area to improve programs, experiences equipment/facilities and opportunities for all students, residential and commuter,” Andrea Treptow, assistant director of Student Life, said in an email interview.

One concept stressed by ASCLU President Evan Carthen, is this article is meant for all the students.

“This article, as well as the other Constitutional Amendments are all about the students and meeting their needs to the best of the university’s ability. I hope the students recognize that and realize how important their voice is to this community because this is not just the ASCLU constitution. It is the Associated Students of California Lutheran University Constitution,” Carthen said in an email interview.

With the increase in money and additional programs and events, ASCLU hopes to bring awareness to social aspects such as CSC events or even the promotion of Title IX.

However, there are some concerns from students who are not 100 percent on board with Article X.

“I voted ‘no’ for the raise in student fees because I hardly go to some of the events or clubs currently and since they are raising the price, I’m basically paying for other students to enjoy themselves. It would only make it worse for commuters who do not know of half the events as well,” Alicia Light said, a student who voted no on Article X.

Another argument made by Light is the fact that not everyone voted.

“I don’t think that the votes would have been the same if everyone at Cal Lu was able to vote. I think that they would have the same opinion as me on this topic and agree that not everyone is aware or has the time to go to every single event,” Light said.

Even though there are some students who disagree with the increase of student fees, ASCLU is sure that Article X is beneficial to Cal Lutheran.

“Article X essentially gives more options to students. These options are not just limited to programming and events, but other social aspects that are covered by student fees. I believed it was our responsibility to provide different alternatives to improve our campus community by giving our campus resources a bigger budget to work with in regards to meeting needs for students,” Carthen said.

The students fees have not been changed for the past eight-10 years and is possibly why Carthen and his Executive Cabinet collaborated on Article X as a solution for ASCLU and other organizations on campus to stay up to date on the needs and wants of the students of Cal Lutheran.   

Article X will go into effect in the fall semester of 2016 and all students are encouraged to partake in all events and programs.

Alec Sprague
Staff Writer
Published March 9th, 2016