Blanket tax increase for intramurals proposed

A student body referendum will decide whether to raise blanket tax fees $5 to cover intramural sports expenses, after the Student Association Senate unanimously passed a resolution supporting the increase on Monday.
The blanket tax increase will be implemented if it receives a two-thirds approval by 20 percent of the student body on a campuswide referendum in the upcoming second-round SA elections.
“[Intramural sports] is one of the most followed programs at Rice so we want to make sure it continues,” SA President Ariana Engles said at Senate when introducing the legislation two weeks ago.
Engles said the bill will increase the portion of blanket tax that goes directly to the intramural sports program at Rice from $20 to $25.
According to Engles, the increase is necessary to sustain the intramural sports program due to cost increases since the last time it was increased in 2007, from $15 to $20. Engles said that causes for the increase in cost include the construction of the new Recreation Center, a federally mandated increase in salary for staff and the increased minimum wage for IM officials.
Engles said participation in intramural sports has increased from about 4,100 students in the 2006-07 school year to about 4,980 students this school year, while equipment costs have increased from $1,600 to $3,750.
Second round SA election voting will start on Monday, April 9, at 10 p.m.
More from The Rice Thresher

Rice to support Harvard in lawsuit against research funding freeze
Rice, alongside 17 other research universities, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Harvard University’s lawsuit against the Trump administration over more than $2 billion in frozen research grants.

Mayor Whitmire discusses ‘the state of Houston’ between audience protests at Baker Institute
John Whitmire’s remarks on the city’s budget, transportation and infrastructure were interrupted twice by shouts from audience members at a Baker Institute event May 29. At the event, which was open to the public, Whitmire spoke about the current state of Houston alongside former county judge Ed Emmett.
Rice reaffirms support for international students after Trump administration targets Harvard
Rice and the Office of International Students and Scholars said in a May 23 email that they are monitoring the Trump administration’s actions towards Harvard to bar the school from enrolling international students. A federal judge temporarily halted the move less than 24 hours later.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.