What Mr. Ledgerwood seems to have overlooked is the fact that the majority of student levy fees are actually refundable. Though some of the levy fees are in fact non-refundable, I think it is safe to say that our student newspaper, campus daycare, emergency first response team, a walk home service for those of us who do not feel safe walking alone at night, and our international students association are services that a university would be incomplete without, and that many of us would be upset to lose. I don’t really see this as coercive forced payment but rather collective support for invaluable services on campus.
The rest of our levy fees are not mandatory at all, but actually refundable. If you want your levy fee back, all you have to do is approach the organization and ask for it. Most are more than willing to provide a refund, but the reality is that very few students ever approach these organizations for the refunds in a given year.
Rather than wasting time writing articles about a system that financially supports a number of amazing organizations who wouldn’t be able to function without it, why don’t people get busy e-mailing levy groups asking for refunds? I’m sure you’d all have your money back within the week.
Meg Labron
