By Brad Jones, brad@jones.name At a recent rally at the state capitol, CU tri-executive Jeremey Jimenez stumped in support of Referenda C and D. His message was an ominous one: scores of students, mostly the poor and minorities, would be unable to attend the state's flagship university if the ballot measures went down. "How many of you might not be able to come back to school?" he asked.

What Mr. Jimenez failed to mention is he and his two co-executives wield the power to control a full 11.5% of an in-state student's cost of attendance . In the 2005-06 school year, the University of Colorado Student Union will collect mandatory fees of $619.00 a year from each and every student on the Boulder campus – for a total well over $30 million.