Where is the money going? Cornell University’s health fee is not just for health services. Casey Breznick from the Cornell Review reports.

Student Health Fee is Administrative Bailout, Only Half of Fee Goes to Health Services

During the occupation of Day Hall, University President David Skorton confronted protesting students and fielded questions and criticisms regarding the recently-announced $350 student health fee.

Skorton confirmed the accuracy of the breakdown shown below of how the fee will be spent. The breakdown was originally presented in flyers protest organizers handed out at the beginning of Monday’s protest in Willard Straight Hall. The flyers cited an “insider source” who ostensibly is a sitting member of the Student Assembly (SA).

At Thursday’s SA meeting, Skorton explicitly said all of the revenues generated by the fee would go towards “operational costs.” This breakdown shows only half will.

Gannett, the campus health center, first began accumulating debt back in 2009-10 due to a large increase in staff size that was deemed necessary at the time. During that year, Cornell experienced an H1N1 scare and a rash of student suicides. Skorton and Vice President Susan Murphy have since said they are not going to cut staff, and instead are apparently now using the student health fee to pay off Gannett’s debts and future deficits.