By Signe K. Skinion

A proposed student-fee increase is needed to combat inflation and help fund registered student organizations, some Undergraduate Student Government senators say.

The Graduate and Professional Student Council president says such an increase is not needed at this time, however.

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Eric Bottom, USG Finance Committee chairman and College of Business senator, said the increase, facing a USG Senate vote Wednesday, would not be in effect until 1997, and if passed, would serve RSOs.

Basically, the student fee increase is $2.25 (per student) over two years, Bottom said. It would equal $1.25 in fall 1997 and $1 in fall 1998. The reason the Finance Committee is proposing this is to increase USG revenue to support the RSOs.

RSOs are campus groups that offer extra-curricular activities and special interest forums.

Currently, each student is paying $18.75 a year for student activity fees. Bottom said with this resolution, by fall 1998, students would pay $21 in activity fees.

Really, we’re doing this increase so we can keep up with the rate of inflation, Bottom said. We’re also doing this in small increments, so in two years there won’t be as big an impact on the students at one time.

David Vingren, Finance Committee member and Thompson Point senator, said the rate of inflation keeps increasing, but student activity fees for USG have been the same for a few years.

The last increase in student activity fees was in 1993, Vingren said. That was a long time ago. Basically, this is to keep us up with inflation.

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Bottom said if the fee increase is passed, it would help RSOs that claim they need more money.

There have been a number of new RSOs over the past few years, Bottom said. There have been 15 or 20 in just the last year. With this increase, there will be more money for them because they come to us asking for $1,000 or so, and they’re only given $500 or $600 or 10 to 20 percent of what they needed.

Bottom said if the increase is passed Wednesday, it will go to the Graduate and Professional Student Council and the SIU Board of Trustees for a vote before the end of the semester.

GPSC President Bill Karrow said he does not see a need for a student activity fee increase.

I don’t think there is a need to raise student fees by this much ($2.25), Karrow said. I’m hopeful GPSC will not pass such a resolution.

Karrow said such an increase needs to be understood by everyone before it is passed.

I think it’s important for students to realize that we (GPSC) are students, Karrow said. When we complain about increasing fees, we have to be careful because we’re the ones voting on these increases.

USG President Kim Clemens said she supports the Finance Committee’s decision on the matter.

Whatever the Finance Committee thinks is needed is fine, Clemens said. The cost of inflation keeps increasing, and we’re not able to keep up with it. The Finance Committee has worked hard on this, but they will still have to sell it to the senate.

The USG meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Student Center Ballroom B.