Cal State Fullerton Students Face Vote on Athletics Fee

Student passage of the proposal would add $14 each semester to the $1,162 fee charged to CSF students taking six or more units of instruction. The existing student fees include a $49 levy each semester to pay for the campus' new University Center. Students voted for that fee about three years ago, campus spokesman Jerry Keating said.

Many California universities have special fees approved by students for specific purposes. Students at UC Irvine in 1982 voted to assess themselves a $69 yearly fee to pay for a new gymnasium and activities building, now called the Bren Events Center.

In the early 1980s, students at Cal State Northridge in Los Angeles approved a $4-a-semester fee for athletics. During the past three years, students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal State Chico and San Francisco State University also approved special fees in support of athletic programs.

Nonetheless, students do not often take actions to add fees on themselves, said Robbie Nayman, vice president of student affairs at Cal State Fullerton.

"I think it's fair to say that these are not ordinary occurrences," Nayman said.