The Association of Residence Hall Students (ARHS) voted Monday to postpone implementing a controversial policy that would require most student groups to pay to use certain spaces in residence halls and common areas.
The fee, which could have gone into effect as early as January, will now likely be implemented at the end of the spring semester, pending university approval.
The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), which has continually opposed the potential fee, will discuss it with ARHS throughout the semester, UPUA Internal Development Chairman Andrew Karasik said Thursday.
The university has not formally implemented the fee, added Karasik, who is also ARHS's executive vice president for North Halls.
"Ultimately, the decision rests with the university," he said.
The fee would charge student groups that are not affiliated with Residence
Life $25 to occupy a small room for three hours and a flat fee of $50 for any time slot more than three hours. Groups would be charged $50 to occupy a large room for three hours and a flat fee of $100 after that.
In late October, ARHS voted to implement the fee as early as January, but by November, Assistant Vice President for Housing, Residence Life and Food Services Stan Latta said the fee's implementation would likely be postponed until August because there had been "tumult" over the idea.
Latta did not return a call for comment by press time.
UPUA passed a resolution on the fee in November, calling for ARHS and Residence Life to delay the fee's implementation and create a task force to discuss the fee.
No decisions have been made yet concerning how discussions are going to occur, Karasik said.
UPUA President Gavin Keirans said his organization is "really against" the fee but is open to discussion.
He added ARHS's vote to postpone the fee's implementation is a promising start to the discussion.
"I think, if anything, it really shows the respect they have for the concerns of UPUA. I really think it's an olive branch to open up a line of communications," he said.
Karasik said while he disagrees personally with the fee, he understands ARHS's rationale for it.
"The on-campus students pay for usage of those areas in part of their room and board fees," he said. "ARHS and the university had mentioned that [the fee] is designed to make the system equal," when considering the use of the spaces by students who live off campus and whose groups currently use the spaces for free.
ARHS representatives did not return calls for comment by press time.
