Friday, March 29, 2024

AdvertiseDonateSubmit
NewsSportsArtsOpinionThe QuadPhotoVideoIllustrationsCartoonsGraphicsThe StackPRIMEEnterpriseInteractivesPodcastsBruinwalkClassifieds

Program lowers BruinCard replacement fee by $15 with waiver

BruinCard replacement fees dropped by $15 on Monday, following a subsidy from the Undergraduate Students Association Council Financial Supports Commission. (Daily Bruin file photo)

By Christina Williams

March 4, 2020 1:06 a.m.

Students can pay $15 less to replace a BruinCard starting March 2, under a new student government program.

The fee waivers would be given on a first-come, first-served basis through filling out a Google form on the Undergraduate Students Association Council Financial Supports Commission’s social media or website or by directly filling out a form at the BruinCard Center.

“For my entire four years here at UCLA, I’ve constantly heard students struggle with the high costs of replacing their BruinCard,” said Financial Supports Commissioner Millen Srivastava, who spearheaded the project. “Because of the high costs of replacing a BruinCard, some students aren’t able to pay for a new one and suffer for weeks because of it.”

Students can lose access to their dorms, meal plans and forms of identification on campus after losing their BruinCards.

Her office received $2,000 from USAC’s surplus allocations for the waiver this year, allowing it to give fee waivers to students by reducing the $25 replacement card fee to just $10. The program will run until June 1, or until all are exhausted for the year.

Students will have five business days to collect their subsidized card, otherwise their waiver will be ineffective and they will be unable to receive one for this academic year.

The participants of the BruinCard fee waiver program will be students, and their opinions are manifold.

“I am very grateful that we are able to introduce this program to our students,” said Buddy Al-Aydi, a second-year English student. “BruinCards are so easily lost and misplaced and it can be such a financial burden to replace it, especially for students who need every penny to pay for housing and food.”

He added that he thinks this is a step in the right direction to making BruinCard replacements more accessible and affordable to everyone.

Despite some student support, others think the program should be restricted to a need-based system.

“I don’t think that everybody should get the fee waiver,” said Stephanie Perez, a third-year biology student in a statement. “It’s not fair because everybody’s financial situations are different. The FSC should focus on putting the money toward getting the administration to lower the replacement fee costs and for the students that need the service, not just want it.”

The BruinCard Center charges the replacement fee because it relies heavily on the fees to run and function as an office, a BruinCard Center representative said.

Srivastava said she is working on receiving annual funding for this program so it can occur on a yearly basis. As of now, the subsidy is a one-time allocation from her office.

She added that this program is just one step in the right direction toward reducing BruinCard costs. The ultimate goal, Srivastava said, is to have the BruinCard Center lower the replacement fee costs on an administrative level.

Share this story:FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Christina Williams
COMMENTS
Featured Classifieds
More classifieds »
Related Posts