Although volunteerism helps build a strong community, the Nexus prefers the kind of volunteerism that doesn’t require an exchange of money.

The A.S. Community Affairs Board (CAB) claims to help students get involved with reputable organizations like Camp Ronald McDonald, Habitat for Humanity or Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. However, if a student truly wanted to volunteer for one of these institutions, he or she could easily contact them without going through CAB. Most egregiously, CAB claims Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter – or BUNS – as one if its nonprofit partners. Rabbits are cute, but students should be able to decide for themselves whether a small percentage of their quarterly dues should go to rabbit adoption.

The Nexus strongly opposes the proposed quarterly increase from $1.15 to $1.65.