Running head: WHETHER OR NOT TO MAKE THE PAYMENT OF ACTIVITY FEE IN

COLLEGE AN OPTION 1

Whether Or Not to Make the Payment of Activity Fee In College an Option

NYAGETUBA MAYAKA
 WHETHER OR NOT TO MAKE THE PAYMENT OF ACTIVITY FEE IN COLLEGE AN

OPTION 2

Whether Or Not to Make the Payment of Activity Fee In College an Option

Since the advent of the 21st Century, the payment of student activity fee has played a

pivotal role in the advancement of a plethora of college activities. In the 1960s, the student

movement in United States questioned the legality of paying activities fee since most of them

saw that non student bodies utilized their money. The court has played a profound role in

articulating the constitutionality of activity fee. Noteworthy, the Board of Regents of the

University of Wisconsin System v Southworth (2000) was informative in this delicate area of

higher education. In essence, the court averred that the government can require college students

to pay activity fees to support student activities despite the fact that the activities contravened the

payers’ political ideologies.

Student activity fee boosts extracurricular activities in campuses. Over the past, many

colleges have made it mandatory for students to pay activity fee that is in turn used to construct

important social amenities. The University of Wisconsin, for instance, utilized student activity

fee to construct university hallways and public rooms (Lorence, 2003). In a nutshell, student

activity fee provides students with the opportunities to learn beyond the classrooms. Noteworthy,

the peculiarity of the modern system of education is its amalgamation with pertinent social

pursuits (Ott, 2009).

Many students do not take part in the college social events. A good example would be the

distant learners who are not physically found in the college precincts. It would be needless for

these students to pay activity fee that they deem disadvantageous. Therefore, students argue that

the payment of activity fee is discriminatory owing to the fact that it serves the needs of few
 WHETHER OR NOT TO MAKE THE PAYMENT OF ACTIVITY FEE IN COLLEGE AN

OPTION 3

students. Owing to the foregoing arguments for mandatory payment of activity fee, colleges

should adopt suitable mechanisms to increase student awareness of the roles of activity fees to

counter their negative views.

 WHETHER OR NOT TO MAKE THE PAYMENT OF ACTIVITY FEE IN COLLEGE AN

OPTION 4

References

Lorence, J. (2003). FIRE's Guide to Student Fees, Funding, and Legal Equality on Campus.

FIRE's Guides to Student Rights on Campus. Foundation for Individual Rights in

Education. 601 Walnut Street Suite 510, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Retrieved from

https://www.thefire.org/pdfs/student-fees.pdf

Ott, K. S. (2009). Students’ awareness and perceptions of the activity fee at the University of

Toledo: A descriptive research study (Doctoral dissertation, University of Toledo).

Retrieved from http://utdr.utoledo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2134&context=theses-

dissertations