Emory University undergraduate students voted to raise the Student Activity Fee (SAF) by $15 and schedule yearly increases based on the Consumer Price Index, a federal measure of national inflation. This will “build an Emory that works to empower student creativity and involvement” through increased club funding, Student Government Association (SGA) President Khegan Meyers (24B) wrote in an email to The Emory Wheel.
In total, 61.85% of the 540 students who participated in the referendum voted in favor of the $15 increase, while 63.51% voted to approve the inflation measure, according to an email sent to undergraduate students this afternoon. This decision sends both bills to the Emory Board of Trustees, which now has to approve the changes.
Attendees at the SPC Homecoming concert, funded by the Student Activity Fund. (Jack Rutherford/News Editor)
If approved by the Board, the fee will rise from $116 for the 2023-24 academic year to $133 for the 2025-26 academic year, with students covering the charge in their tuition. Inflation adjustments would begin the following academic year.
“I hope to have all trustees embrace our ask and approve quickly,” Meyers wrote.
SGA unanimously passed both bills on March 18 before sending them to a student referendum. Student voting was open from March 26 to March 28.
The SAF funds Emory’s undergraduate student organizations. First, SGA distributes the funds to College Council, Bachelor of Business Administration Council, Oxford College SGA, Belonging and Community Council and the Emory Student Nurses Association, all of which then further allocate the funds to their respective organizations. Additionally, the SAF funds SGA and its six executive agencies: Student Programming Council (SPC), Club Sports, TableTalk, Emory Entrepreneurship & Venture Management, Media Council and Outdoor Emory.
This allows students to use the SAF to fund clubs and SPC concerts, among other activities.
Meyers said he was glad students voted in favor of the measures.
“Our collective action will provide the needed funding to grow our campus culture,” Meyers wrote.
Correction (3/29/2024 at 9:45 a.m.): A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the SAF will rise from $116 for the 2023-24 academic year to $131 for the 2025-26 academic year. In fact, the fee will rise from $116 for the 2023-24 academic year to $133 for the 2025-26 academic year due to the Cost-of-Living adjustment.
Jack Rutherford (27C) is a News Editor at the Emory Wheel. He is from Louisville, Kentucky, majoring in Economics on a pre-law track. When not writing for the Wheel, he can normally be found with the Emory Rowing team or at a Schwartz Center performance. In his free time, Rutherford enjoys listening to classical music or opera, or is out walking in Lullwater.
