Students will find out soon if Associated Students, Inc. decides to increase the Student Activities Fee by nearly $90 for fall 2009.

Most of the fee increase would go toward the Athletics department.

The fee would also pay for students’ Regional Transit use, Recreational Sports, and ASI programs, services and grants. The athletics department, which has a $500,000 deficit, is asking for the majority of the money from the increase because it needs the funding for making overall department improvements.

ASI President Miguel Cervantes put forward a motion at ASI’s March 11 board meeting to move the discussion to a special meeting today, when directors could appropriately distinguish what the specific increases are for.

ASI Vice President Roberto Torres said they postponed the vote until today since the student government wants to be certain it is making a fully informed and well-educated decision on behalf of the students.

If ASI does vote for an increase, the proposal will go to the Student Fee Advisory Committee. The committee reviews the request and decides if a fee increase is necessary. If the committee decide it is, it then determines whether the fee proposal goes through the alternative consultation or referendum process.

Alternative consultation is the process where the fee committee puts together focus groups and surveys students to get input. Referendum is simply a popular vote by the student body.

If ASI sends a proposal to the Student Fee Advisory Committee that is accepted for referendum, it will be voted on during student elections on April 28 and 29.

Whether it is decided by referendum or alternative consultation, there will be a mandatory 30-day informational campaign for raising student awareness and visibility about fee increases.

Whether the committee or students make the decision about the fee increase, Torres said that Sac State President Alexander Gonzalez has the ultimate say in the fee being increased.

“I think some of our board members expressed that they haven’t really had a chance to speak to a good representative body from their college?we don’t want our decision to be taken as a ‘yes, we agree on it’ and go through alternative consultations,” Torres said.

Two students addressed their concerns before the board on March 11 in support of at least increasing the Recreational Sports fee.

Sac State Rowing Club members Jonathan Stoumen and William Morthole voiced their support for the fee increase, saying rowing club members could purchase new equipment and spend more time studying and practicing.

Stoumen, senior economics major and rowing club captain, said he spent 45-50 hours raising funds this semester.

Rowing club member William Morthole, junior criminal justice major, transferred to Sac State mainly because of the rowing program. He said rowing was an expensive sport; the shells they use for rowing cost $25,000.

Director of Education Florenda McGee said she had to put herself in the athletes’ position to see it from their perspective.

She said that simply asking a student to vote on a fee increase – not knowing where that money would go – could garner an immediate “no” response.

“It’s very important to take care of our own (programs),” McGee said. “How can we encourage (students) to do things for us if we’re not taking care of our own?”

Vice President of Finance Tim Snyder said no large-scale survey was conducted asking students whether they would want this increase. He said the organizations came to ASI seeking these increases because it costs more money to operate.

Julia Baum can be reached at [email protected].