The Council of Graduate Students, or COGS, will continue to receive the student tax after graduate and professional students voted in favor to renew the tax for another three years, COGS President Stefan Fletcher confirmed.
COGS received about a 6 percent voter turnout amongst the graduate and professional student body with 490 electing to continuing the tax of $9.25 per student per semester during the fall and spring semester and $4.75 during the summer semester, Fletcher said. 122 students voted against the tax, he added.
“Obviously I’m pleased the tax is going to be continued for another three years,” Fletcher said. “If you look at the 2010 number (compared) to 2013 … You see a 42 percent increase in voter turnout. But I would like to see the numbers climb as you move through the referendum years. That is one thing I would like to see continue to improve.”
COGS maintained the current student tax has been in place since the last time it was up for voting in 2010. Fletcher said the organization decided not to raise the tax because of increased collaboration with other student organizations and being able to allocate COGS services in a prudent manor.
Graduate student Taylor Strosnider had no problem continuing to pay the COGS student tax and believes the organization is worthy.
“I absolutely think they deserve that tax so long as they are spending it (appropriately) and maintain a balanced budget with what they are doing with the tax,” Strosnider said. “I’m more than happy to give that nominal fee to them. It’s ($9.75), so it’s not out of hand by any means.”
The COGS tax will be up for renewal again in 2016, unless the organization decides to adjust the tax before then, but Fletcher pointed out the organization hasn’t really gotten into the business of reworking the student tax between cycles.
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