The Students’ Association (SA) chose not to turn in the 700-some signatures they obtained to refer the Third B tax to a vote. They did so because the Brookings City Council said that they would earmark a minimum of $35,000 to the university to be used for promotional use if the petition wasn’t turned in.

Not everyone is OK with this decision. Some students and faculty are upset with the SA for not turning in the petition. Some say that SA was bought out by the city and refer to the $35,000 as “dirty money.”

Many of the people who are upset believe that this tax is bogus and the students shouldn’t have to pay for it.

But what is misunderstood is that the petition wasn’t taken out because the SA disapproved of the tax. The SA could have fought the tax earlier, but they didn’t because they were under the impression that the university would receive $35,000 to compensate for the fact that students living on campus are required to pay this tax. When they were told that the university wouldn’t get any money, they took out the petition.

Yes, it may be more ideal if the students didn’t have to pay the tax at all, but this money will be a good thing for the university.

The money will probably be used for a big event, such as a concert, that will be nice for SDSU students and will attract students from other schools.

However, students do have a right to be upset. The SA may not have made it clear why the petition had been taken out and that there was a possibility it may not be turned in if a deal was made. They left the students out of the loop, and as leaders at SDSU, they can’t do that on such an important issue.

Nonetheless, they still did the right thing. They didn’t make a rash decision because there was money involved, but they took time to think their decision over and what would be best for the students, as well as the community. All in all, the money will be a good thing and students and the community will be able to reap the benefits.