WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Wichita State University has given a new name and logo to its campaign to raise student fees in order to finance about $38 million in campus upgrades: “Shock the Future.”
Wichita State communications official Tracee Friess told the Wichita Eagle that the student-led campaign will launch in January. Students will vote in a March referendum on the proposal to double the campus infrastructure fee for all students from $6 to $12 per credit hour for at least 20 years.
A committee of university administrators and 30 students decided to name the campaign “Shock the Future” to reflect “the positive changes these improvements will have on future Shockers for years to come,” Friess said.
Senior student Hannah Foster is working on marketing strategies for the campaign. She said the campus upgrades are important for the university’s legacy and growth.
“It’s kind of like paying taxes for roads and stuff,” Foster said. “It’s the same thing, for the greater good.”
But the fee increase could face opposition as it comes a year after hundreds of students petitioned against the university raising fees to build a new YMCA on campus.
The plan calls for Wichita State to issue $38 million in bonds, with $20 million will go toward the new W. Frank Barton School of Business and $18 million will go to other campus renovations. The campaign proposes infrastructure upgrades such as centralizing student services and updating classrooms and theater space.
An average undergraduate student, who might take 15 credit hours, pays roughly $782 in student fees per semester, excluding tuition. The proposal would raise those fees by $90 per semester.
“The more we educate people I think it will get better, but right now a lot of people are just talking about how the student fees are going to be raised,” Foster said.
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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com
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