It was the great Jules Verne who once said that liberty is worth paying for, and as our recent campus-wide special election showed us, ours is worth $100 a quarter.

Nevertheless, the Daily Nexus would like to take this time to thank all the students who took interest in the Students’ Initiative and voted “no” on GOLD. Never have we seen so much enthusiasm against a fee increase. It took a lot of guts for all of you to organize and fight back against groups that can afford pretty pink T-shirts and several advertisements, while also having the resources to stuff the ballot box with votes from within their own organizations.

The Nexus would also like to thank Sam O’Hanlon and the “Vote No” Facebook.com group, as well as the former A.S. members who had the courage to stand up against their former council members and friends. It is because of you that A.S. and these other organizations will feel guilty for years to come knowing that in an election where only 24 percent of the campus voted, their thoughtless initiative only passed by 30 votes. You guys rock.

Furthermore, if any of you are still upset by the Students’ Initiative, let your elected representatives know. The A.S. Legislative Council meets every Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Flying A Studio room in the UCen. Feel free to let them know that they are hypocrites and no longer maintain the right to complain about the UC Regents raising our fees.

Hell, go ahead and ask the A.S. committee members who told the Nexus they felt bullied into joining the initiative why they campaigned for something they found appalling. What were you afraid of? It’s thanks to you that UCSB students can add almost $400 to their yearly expenses as a result of this initiative and its return-to-aid surcharge.

Lastly, a reminder to A.S. and the organizations that colluded with them in creating this abominable lock-in fee increase: 12 percent of UCSB is not a mandate. As evidenced by the election results, not all of us are with you. Why couldn’t you let students vote on each group individually? Was it because you thought this was the only way for A.S. Program Board to get that $4.50 increase that failed last spring? Kudos, guys.

Additionally, the last time we checked, all of the organizations involved were called “student services.” You seemed to have forgotten this fact. Students should never feel forced into supporting a service. As such, you better believe the next time you bundle several organizations into one lock-in fee, you will fail miserably. Our liberties are not for sale.