U.C. Should Make Refund Complete

The Undergraduate Council giveth with one hand, but it taketh away with the other. Last week, they reinstituted the term-bill check-box that lets students keep most of their annual contribution to the council. But why didn't they allow students to withhold the whole $20? Why do we still have to write to Dean Epps for the last $3.33, we ask?

You might not even want to hear the answer. Council Treasurer Jay I. Kim '95 believes that most students won't write in for the last few bucks, so the council might as well keep them. That philosophy undermines the entire idea of a refund--what is a refund if you don't get all of your money back?

Council Vice-President Brandon C. Gregoire '95 has tried to break the hypocrisy by pointing out that students still use council services even when they don't pay the fee. But how can Gregoire fight for the $3.33 on those grounds? A letter to Dean Epps certainly doesn't present a student from going to a council concert.

That fabled letter doesn't even have to say anything in particular. One line stating that "I want my $3.33 back, signed X" is sufficient. Why that letter seems more expressive than checking a "NO" on a term-bill escapes us. It's true that the provision for the return of the $3.33 was the administration's idea when it created the council, but the U.C. now has the power to change that clause. The council has no inherent right to the $3.33, and they don't need it to cover the administrative costs of a term-bill check-box. Moreover, students who check "NO" certainly don't want to give it to them.

Gregoire thinks that the council should resort to price discrimination--charging more at council events for students who didn't contribute. For example, students who withhold their $20 would not be able to get subsidized tickets for council-sponsored concerts. Gregoire's amendment to that effect was ruled out because of the confidentiality guaranteed to those who withhold their fees. But we endorse Gregoire's idea that students who make their contributions be given membership cards to present at council functions. The council could preserve confidentiality if it would only operate like any other club.

Kim also worries that if enough students grab their $20 back, the council will be bankrupt. A council bankruptcy created by the active participation of students strikes us as the smooth functioning of democracy. Even if only one in 10 students sent their fee in happily, the council would still have about $13,000 to play with. If you're only catering to one-tenth of the campus, we think that's plenty. If you happen to disappear, it's only because the whole student body wants you to.