Mission Statement
Common Sense Carolina exists to lower the cost of attending the University of South Carolina, ensure accountability in how student fees and tuition dollars are spent, and support Student Government candidates who prioritize students over politics.
The Problem
USC charges in-state students over $17,000 per year in tuition and fees. Mandatory fees alone exceed $2,400. Over the last decade, tuition has risen more than 30% while state funding remains nearly 40% below 2008 levels.
Meanwhile, Student Government — the body that controls hundreds of thousands of dollars in student fees — operates with minimal transparency, inconsistent enforcement of its own rules, and a track record of punishing the organizations it’s supposed to serve.
The university administration has spent $1.5 million on a crippled ChatGPT license while students struggle with parking costs, rising fees, and crumbling infrastructure. A state audit found $1.7 million in questionable spending in a single administrative office. The state legislature, which provides only 13% of USC’s budget, controls 80% of its governing board.
The system is broken. Students are paying for it.
Our Goals
1. Lower Fees and Tuition
We advocate for a comprehensive review of all mandatory student fees, elimination of fees that don’t directly serve students, and resistance to tuition increases that outpace inflation and state investment.
2. Reform Student Government Finance
The student organization funding process has failed for over a century. We support moving funding logistics from student politicians to professional university staff, eliminating the political manipulation of student organization budgets.
3. Election Integrity
When a campaign is found guilty of election fraud, the consequence should be more than a 24-hour social media ban. We support enforceable penalties, transparent processes, and the right of students to revote when fraud is discovered during an election.
4. Administrative Accountability
Every dollar of tuition should be traceable. We push for transparent budgets, independent audits, and meaningful consequences when university administrators misuse student funds.
5. Student Representation
Students and families fund more than half of USC’s budget. They deserve proportional representation on the Board of Trustees and a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect their education and their wallets.