Eco's plan for "green energy" is promising and could put MSU on the cutting edge of conservation, but funding the endeavor with a student tax is not a good idea.
The $5 tax Eco seeks to impose might be small by itself, but the list of taxes that students already pay adds up fast. And in a time of a state budget crisis and rapidly inflating tuition, bigger bills are not what students need.
Instead of adding another tax to tuition bills, Eco should lobby students to address the MSU Board of Trustees for funding. Eco's projects should be financially supported by the university instead of students. This will give students a choice in whether they want to assist renewable energy projects.
It isn't fair to students to add more taxes to tuition bills to support groups each time they have a project they want to implement. The idea for projects exploring renewable energy pose definite positive possibilities for MSU, but should not be supported through extra taxes.
The purpose of the student tax system is to support student services, not the university's. Taxes currently included in tuition bills directly affect students, while Eco's projects would not.
While special interest groups like Eco serve good causes, they need to do more research before asking for funding. Students should not be expected to pay into something blindly.
Eco should consider the estimated cost and impact of green energy projects along with the actual projects it plans to implement.
As it stands, Eco has not released enough information for students to decide whether subscribing financially to its green energy ideas could be profitable for the university.
Students should be aware of exactly how the money they are asked to give will make a difference with green energy. Still, the bottom line is that students should not be asked to pay for the university's energy cost. That burden falls on the Board of Trustees. Eco should present its plan to the MSU's governors.
