Last week’s referendum on funding the Student Success Building with a new student fee has passed and will be certified on Wednesday by the Election Commission.

Metro State students voted 53 percent to 39 percent (with 8 percent abstaining) to approve the fee, which will be assessed based on the number of credit hours a student is taking. It will also increase incrementally each year, so that current students will not be burdened by the more substantial fee just before graduating.

“I want to thank all the students who voted for taking the time to make their voices heard,” says President Stephen Jordan. “I’m grateful that our students understood that the Student Success Building will be of great value not only to future students, but to them, as graduates, since it will enhance Metro State’s visibility and reputation. It will truly infuse even more value into their degree from Metro State.”

In a related development, construction of the Student Success Building has been approved by the legislature’s Capitol Development Committee. Go to http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/artman/publish/successbuilding_twv6042209.shtml. To read more about the building go to http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/artman/publish/building_twv6040109.shtml.

Election results
In other results of last week’s election, Andrew Bateman has been reelected SGA president. Bateman has been a strong advocate for Metro State’s top initiatives, including the Student Success Building, the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and master’s programs.

C.J. Garbo was elected vice president. The two SACAB representatives are Michelle Sprowl and Hannah Kaufman.

A new student trustee to the Board of Trustees has also been elected. Kailei Higginson is a junior majoring in political science.