Stony Brook University’s student activity fee will be reduced by 40% for 2020 summer sessions.
The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) senate voted on the reduction of the fee from $16 per summer session to $10 during their meeting on May 7. The resolution was adopted by common consent in the senate and approved by the Executive Council.
USG President Shaheer Khan said that there were three options when deciding what to charge for the activity fee: charging no fee, a reduced fee or the full fee. Khan said that the decision was made for “a number of reasons,” but primarily because “students are in a very tough situation right now, whether it be financially or emotionally,” due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
USG still operates during the summer with certain responsibilities, such as planning committees for orientation, presidential transitions and participating in the University Senate. Both USG professional and student staff will still need to be paid for their operations over the summer. Other USG expenses include legal fees, insurance and certain clubs who apply for a summer budget.
Due to social distancing guidelines and summer classes being online due to COVID-19, USG will not be able to host in-person events like the Summer BBQ. All summer student activities and events will be held online.
As of now the decrease in the student activity fee will only be for summer 2020 academic sessions.
