Last week, quite an entourage appeared before the SGA senate to discuss a proposed student recreation center. Students were told the center would cost $80 per semester per student in a new fee, and feedback was sought on the pros and cons of the proposed center.

We see the need for new facilities on campus, but aren’t some academic buildings also in need of attention? Perhaps the fee would be easier to swallow if equal attention were given to creating new academic programs or improving what we already have.

However, a far worse threat to our pocketbooks is looming on the federal horizon. U.S. House Resolution 609, the House Higher Education Act reauthorization bill, will do far more damage to your ability to attend college than will a new campus fee.

Every year, millions of students fall short of what the federal government estimates is the cost of paying for college, even after adding up all available federal and state aid, expected family contributions, and student work. A typical low-income student falls $3,800 short a year at a four-year school, while the typical middle-class student falls $2,300 short. Most of this money has to be fronted by the student through personal loans.

Some may say that this is just Congress being fiscally responsible, asking American students to shoulder more of the burden. The truth is that students already shoulder more than they can afford.

A recent survey shows that nearly half of all full-time students work 25 hours or more a week. The time spent on the job can hurt academic performance, further perpetuating a student’s stay in college.

H.R. 609 certainly doesn’t help this dire situation. The resolution would freeze Pell grants until 2013 along with federal work-study program funding.

These are a few of the “cost-saving measures” that are meant to “improve the quality of higher education” presented in the resolution.