Spring 2021 Election

Spring Initiatives Election

Your student vote matters. Voting on the referendum ballot via my.evergreen.edu starts Monday, March 29th and ends April 11th. There are 4 items on the Spring Quarter ballot, and we encourage you to review them in the student voter guide.  

Student Voter Guide

Continue collection of the WashPIRG Fee

WashPIRG (Washington Student Public Interest Research Group) is a statewide student-directed organization that works to protect the environment, register voters, and fight poverty in our community.  Recently, WashPIRG at Evergreen has organized fundraisers and service hours for the Thurston County Food Bank, built support to ban unnecessary single-use plastics in Washington to protect marine life, and helped turn out the vote for the 2020 Election. WashPIRG chapters across the state pool resources and hire a professional staff that work with students to run effective campaigns. A YES vote continues WashPIRG's current funding at Evergreen through a $8 per student, per term opt-out fee.  

Do you support the continued funding of the WashPIRG (Washington Student Public Interest Research Group) chapter at Evergreen through a $8 per student per term opt-out fee for the 2021-23 academic years? 

Convert GSU Fee from a headcount fee to a per credit fee

Currently, the GSU uses an optional student headcount fee of $7.5 charged in Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. This item would convert the GSU fee into an optional per credit fee of $2.25 charged each quarter.  

Headcount fees charge all students the same amount regardless of usage or how many credits students take. As a result, headcount fees cost students the same amount regardless of whether they rarely use the services or heavily use its benefits. 

This item would not change the optional nature of the fee. Every student will continue to be able to opt-out of the fee if they choose to. 

Do you support changing the Geoduck Student Union Fee from a $7.5 headcount fee to $2.25 per credit fee? 

Collect GSU Fee in all academic quarters initiative

The GSU currently operates year-round but only charges the GSU fee in Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Changing the fee so it is charged in all academic quarters prevents students who don’t take summer quarter classes from paying for the benefits gained by only students taking summer classes. 

This item would not change the optional nature of the fee. Every student will continue to be able to opt-out of the fee if they choose to.  

Do you support charging the Geoduck Student Union Fee in all academic quarters rather than only in Fall, Winter, and Spring to ensure students who take classes in summer and benefit from the fee also pay the fee?  

Advisory vote on student leader compensation

Currently, The Evergreen State College often uses a learning allotment system to compensate student leaders for their work. Learning allotments are used to compensate student leaders in positions ranging from working as resident assistants (RAs) in housing to roles as club coordinators and students who serve on student governance groups. Some of these learning allotments equal pay rates far lower than what students would be paid using hourly minimum wage for the same amount of hours worked. In some cases, students receive learning allotments equivalent to $7.5 an hour. The minimum hourly wage in Thurston County is $13.69 an hour.  

Do you support requiring all student positions to pay students at a rate equal to or greater than minimum wage?