In response to the Star’s Feb. 9, 1987, editorial: “Parking fee boost unwisely rejected,” I feel it is important for all students who drive cars on campus to understand all the issues involved with a fee increase and why I, as a student representative on the committee, voted “no” to the proposed increase.

Since arriving at NIU several years ago, I have seen every fee on this campus raised with little or no corresponding increase in benefits to those paying the increase. Consequently, I am reluctant to support any fee increase, albeit a non-mandatory fee, without substantial justification.

The situation before the Parking Committee was analogous to that of a gambler in Las Vegas. There was no guarantee that any additional revenue raised by increasing the parking fee would remain within the Parking Committee’s domain and control or whether the administration would siphon off the additional revenue, just like the $100,000 dollars a year they already pilfer from the committee.

This was a gamble that I felt was not worth the risks. In my opinion, I felt it was necessary to send a message to those administrators who refused to make guarantees—students will no longer believe that every fee increase is in their best interests! Clearly, with no guarantees whatsoever, asking students to pay more for parking was not my idea of a fair bet.

Christopher W. Nickels

Campus Parking Committee

2nd year law