Beware of Bipartisanship

Even at the collegiate level, it is a good idea to look carefully at proposals that are “bipartisan,” such as the proposed increase in student fees at George Washington University here that students there recently rejected in an online vote that both the College Democrats and College Republicans supported. “The student body rejected a referendum to increase the student fee in a special election Tuesday, leaving the Student Association short of money it would like to allocate to student organizations,” Andrew Springer reported in the GW Hatchet online in a story that was posted on September 27. “More than 1,400 students voted in the online election with 52 percent voting against the increase, according to a news release from the Special Elections Commission, which oversaw the election.”

“The referendum would have recommended an increase in the student fee to the Board of Trustees.” On most campuses, these fees get distributed to hundreds of groups, overwhelmingly left-of-center, that, in turn, may not have more than half a dozen members apiece.

Malcolm A. Kline is the executive director of Accuracy in Academia.