Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez approved an increase in student fees despite a negative student vote at the April 28-29 student election.

The fees, which will help fund athletics and the State Hornet, come at the same time as other tuition fees, but are not related to the increases caused by the state’s budget crunch.

Todd Wilson, State Hornet editor-in-chief, said the paper has been suffering a little financially because advertising revenue has decreased.

“Like the majority of newspapers in the country our advertising revenue, which makes up roughly two-thirds of our budget, is falling due to the tough economic times,” Wilson said. “The fee increase will help us weather that storm.”

As a result of Gonzalez’s move, fees will increase $4 for recreational sports and $18 for intercollegiate sports during the upcoming school year.

The new total for ASI fees is $155.50 each semester, an increase of $22.

The fee increase should help the athletics department not cut scholarships and keep all the programs currently in the department, the school said in a press release.

Student athletes said they were pleased by the news.

Alyse Marlatt, a member of the Sacramento State rowing team, was telling all of her friends to vote for the fee increase because it would help student athletes like herself.

Marlatt was worried that if the fee was not passed, she would lose her scholarship.

However, now she can put her worries aside and continue to compete and attend school.

Holly Heyser, State Hornet adviser, said that the 50 cent fee increase is the first since 1999 for the paper and will help it keep up with inflation.

Wilson said the increase will also help student journalists produce a better paper but said he was a little upset that Gonzalez did not support the student decision to not increase fees.

“While I am happy that the Hornet will be getting more revenue — and we do need it — I am disheartened by the fact that President Gonzalez did not honor the student vote on the matter,” Wilson said. “It is his prerogative under University rules. We at the Hornet feel strongly that an increase in student fees on campus should be approved by the students.”

He added the Hornet was prepared to accept the no vote from students and start a referendum to try and secure more funding. But, Wilson also pointed out that a higher voter turnout at the polls in April could have prevented these fees from being approved at a later date.

“Under 15 percent of eligible voters taking part is really too low of a number to decimate our athletics programs. I would hope that a voter turnout of over 30 percent would have led Gonzalez to honor the will of the students,” Wilson said.

Because the Hornet is now receiving more requests to investigate the transparency of agencies, Wilson said the paper has decided to provide details of its spending, meetings, and other information the public may want to know.

“This will give the campus community insight into our values, mission, plans and how we operate as a student-run newspaper,” Wilson said.

Other fee increases this coming fall include Regional Transit increase that was passed by students and a University Union fee increase that increases automatically with with the Consumer Price Index.

In total, student fees will be $2,114 for the Fall 2009 semester. This includes all CSU and campus fees, an increase of $177 per semester.

Natalie Flynn can be reached at [email protected].