Students at the University of California - Berkeley (UCB) are urging the school to get more serious about mental health by voting to up their wellness fees some $50.
According to the Huffington Post, the student body voted in favor of a referendum increasing the wellness fee paid on top of tuition from $93.50 to $146. Voting started on April 7 and closed two days later with more than 7,000 votes in favor and just less than 3,000 against it.
UCB student government leaders hope the money they raise will allow them to hire someone to handle future fundraising ventures. The referendum seeks to expand the school's efforts in treating mental health and offering preventative measures such as stress management and nutrition courses.
"UC Berkeley, like many other UCs, has a tight budget, and as such, we are unable to adequately support students in their physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being," Madison Gordon, an Associated Students of University of California student senator and the primary sponsor of the referendum, said in a statement. "We, the students, are already in a dire situation where we can barely afford to attend this university, let alone pay more."
Students at UCB staged a large-scale walkout last fall to protest a five-percent tuition increase throughout the school system that would only go up over time. Despite the tuition hike's vast unpopularity, the new referendum shows the student body is willing to give a little extra for an important, accepted cause.
"I think what made the difference is that one-third of all funds collected will go back to financial aid, providing a safety net for those most in need," Gordon said. "Additionally, unlike blanket tuition hikes, the purpose of this increase was clearly laid out so that students know where the money is going."
