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About The Retort (Billings, Mont.) 1955-2014 | View This Issue
The Retort (Billings, Mont.), 26 April 2013, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/TheRetort/2013-04-26/ed-1/seq-1/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
The Voice of Montana stale University Billings for Over Ha a Century April 26, 2013 www.MSUBretort.orli Volume 89, Issue 6 WHERE ARE YOUR STUDENT FEES GOING? PATRICIA HAMPTON News Writer E ach semester, students are required to pay a set amount toward tu- ition and fees. Tuition, of course, goes toward the ex- penses associated directly with our academics. The ma- terials that the instructors bring to class, paying the in- structors themselves, and oth- er associated costs are coy- \ __7 --- -red under this. / -- N__ ) But what exactly are those nondescript \fees\? Thinking in terms of a full-time student who is a Montana resident, the tuition cost is $2198.40 per semester, but where does the other $656.80 in fees get distributed? The first fee, assessed of all students when they en- roll in courses, and which is non-refundable even if a stu- dent withdraws from class- es before the start of the term, is the registration fee. This amounts to $30 each semes- 7 -- -er regardless of status (part- _ .ime, full-time, etc.). If a student were to search around on the MSU Billings website, at some point they may come across the \Inven- tory and Validation of Fees\ charts that are posted, break- ing down the exact costs of education on our campuses. If, however, a student does not know exactly what they are looking for, or invest a cer- tain degree of time and com- mitment to the task, the fees are not clearly explained. Of course on the Mylnfo log- in students are able to see \Departmental Charge\ or \Health Fee,\ but these are not explained in full detail. Maintaining a degree of consistency, the following are the fees associated with being a full-time student residing in Montana: Registration Fee: $30 gliition: $2198.40 Building Fee: $127 Computer Fee: $43.20 Activity Fee: $42.50 Rec Activity Fee: $20.00 Health Fee: $58.50 Student Union Fee: $47.00 Academic Building Fee: $30.00 Equipment Fee: $42.00 Academic Support Center: $46.80 Technology Replacement Fee: $82.00 Library Fee: $42.80 Athletic Fee: $45.00 TOTAL: $2855.20 These fees are assessed of all students qualifying in this category, regardless of wheth- er or not they use the servic- es for which they are associ- ated. The health fee alone of $58.50 goes to fund the Stu- dent Health Services office (SHS). This office employs a registered nurse to be on hand to assist students with ail- ments from the sniffles to a twisted ankle. Students' fees enable them to be seen by the nurse and receive mild medi- cations or even crutches if the situation so warrants. So the next time you are feeling a lit- tle under the weather, or you scrape your knee, remember that students are welcome to visit SHS and receive medical attention. Do you ever take an hour out of your week to walk over to Alterowitz gym and walk around the track, or beat the racquetball for half an hour? This is the type of opportuni- ty that is afforded students by the $20.00 per semester rec activity fee. There is no need to pay for that gym member- ship, or avoid getting in shape because you are not able to afford it, when you have the Recreation Activities Center right on the other side of 27th Street. Are you enrolled in class- es on campus that require you to write papers, conduct re- search, cite your sources, or complete math equations? The $46.80 Academic Sup- port Center fee is contribut- ed to the running of the Ac- ademic Support Center locat- ed on the first floor of the Stu- dent Union Building. There is a computer lab where stu- dents can complete and print their assignments, as well as tutors available in most aca- demic disciplines to help stu- dents through any difficulties that they are facing in their coursework. The final fee which will be looked into specifically is the activity fee of $42.50 each semester. These funds are pooled and account for the es- timated $300,000.00 allocat- ed by the Associated Students of Montana State University Billings each semester. These are funds designed to be returned to students in the form of programming, travel funds for student orgs, and other student activity re- lated expenses. Article continued on page 3. • Registration Fee • Building Fee -4 Computer Fee ■ Activity Fee ■ Rec Activity Fee Heafth Fee • Student Union Fee Academic Building Fee Equipment Fee • Academic Support Center Technology Replacement Fee Library Fee Athletic Fee *Does not include tuition. \RUNNING\ ACROSS THE GLOBE: NOBEL LAUREATE SPEAKS AT MSUB CORY LOVEC Sports Writer R unning,\ as Dr. Stan Wiatr, the head of the MSUB Science De- partment, stated in his intro- duction, is a fitting last name for Nobel Laureate Dr. Steve Running. Traveling three weeks, to 12 seminars, over three continents, Dr. Run- ning certainly showed that he is a very busy man; and at MSUB—the last stop of his marathon trip—he seemed quite fresh, not showing the fatigue that one would expect. Dr. Running's resume is an impressive one. He re- ceived both his BS in Bota- ny and MS in Forest Manage- ment from Oregon State Uni- versity. After receiving his PhD in Forest Ecophysiology in 1979 from Colorado State University, Dr. Running got a position at the University of Montana, where he has been ever since. As a member of the Intergovernmental Pan- el on Climate Change (IPCC), Dr. Running received a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize; the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Prize for their \efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the mea- sures that are needed to coun- teract such change.\ Dr. Run- ning is a member of countless scientific societies and orga- nizations, is a very consis- tent recipient of many differ- ent awards, and is also a very distinguished writer, having written over 240 papers and several books. He is also re- sponsible for developing the Ea rt h-obsery ing-oriented al- gorithms used by the Moder- ate Resolution Imaging Spec- troradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA's satellites Ter- ra and Aqua. As one would expect of such an accomplished man and Nobel Laureate, Dr, Steve Running is a very brilliant man. However, one need not be a scientist oneself to under- stand him. Giving his presen- tation \It's All About Water: Climate Trends and Ecosys- tem Impacts in the Northern Rockies,\ Dr. Running stimu- lated the crowd with his cap- tivating and relevant talk. The MSUB Science Auditorium— packed to capacity and stand- ing room only—was filled not only with MSUB science fac- ulty and students, but also with other MSUB faculty and students, and members of the general public as well. Now, summarizing an hour-long presentation by a Nobel Lau- reate is never easy (impossi- ble when doing so in such an abbreviated space), but here is a short summary of what Dr. Running included in his talk: Dr. Running spoke of ear- ly work on measuring atmo- spheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and gave evidence that the link between atmospheric CO2 levels and an increase in temperature has been known for a very long time (1896!). He also showed that while temperatures historically fluc- tuated over spans of months, the average global tempera- ture has increased in each of the past 386 months. Specif- ically in Montana, Running gave evidence that the Sper- ry Glacier in Glacier Nation- al Park has shown significant shrinkage over the past cou- ple of decades; he also told the crowd that Glacier Na- tional Park is actually quite well-known across the world, and that he thinks Montanans and even other Americans in general take it for granted. Running went on to give data on Montana rainfall, wild- fires, and the pine beetle ep- idemic (also linked to glob- al warming). He then went on to provide predictions for the future. Those predictions forecast that by 2040, Mon- tana will , be an average of 5°F warmer, and will receive 10% less rainfall. The data sug- gests that snowfall will be gone from the mountains by Nobel Laureate Dr. Steve Running spoke at MSUB on April 5th, 2013 in the Science Building. decade, and is still consid- as early as April 1st each year ered by some to be \contra- (much earlier than it histor- versial,\ Dr. Running points ically has been). Finally, Dr. out that there should no Ion- Running concluded the talk ger be a controversy, for there by stating that the main way is not a question of wheth- to reduce CO2 emissions is by er or not global warming ex- halting the burning of coal to ists; it DOES exist, and now produce electricity—which is the problem moves to how by far the biggest producer of to best accomplish reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas- it in hopes of sustaining our es. planet. For more information, While global warming Dr. Running refers inquiring has been a \hot topic\ in the minds to http://w w w.skepti- general public over the past calscience.com/.
