The recent Diablo Valley College election passed an Associated Students of DVC student representation fee of $2 that will be put toward funding the association itself.

The student representation fee is a voluntary $2 fee per semester to be charged to each student. One dollar goes to ASDVC and helps deal with local and state advocacy issues. The other dollar goes to the state community college association, which is currently the Students Senate for California Community Colleges to help them lobby with legislators and implement resolutions to benefit community colleges.

Students can choose not to pay the fee, but they must opt out within two weeks of the semester’s beginning, according to ASDC President Kevin Tian.

“It may improve the frequency of legislative visits,” Tian said. “And overall advocacy efforts through the hiring of professional lobbyists and legal counsel may enable the statewide community college student organization (currently SSCCC) to hire an Executive Director and maintain a proper institutional memory Increase funding to ASDVC in its legislative and advocacy purposes.”

Conflicts between board members could be affecting the efficiency of the board, and some of the members don’t agree with this plan to obtain funds. This is because the passing of this fee has possible negative effects toward the school.

“There are no tangible past achievements from the statewide community college student organization,” Tian said, “There is no evaluation system to assess the use of Student Representation Fee. The information to opt out of the Student Representation Fee is not readily available therefore those who do not wish to pay might not be able to do so.”

Board member Maina Sado said, “I don’t think we need to pay it because it’s not guaranteed that it will do anything.”

The fee itself doesn’t have an official implication date. Vice president of legislation, John Michaelson said, “It will probably be about two years until implication.”

Discussion will be continued at the next ASDVC meeting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28 in the Student Union Conference Room.