On the surface, the proposal might seem reasonable. This fee hasn’t been increased since 1993 and inflation makes student activities cost more. USG officials say the number of registered student organizations is increasing, causing a steady amount of money to be thinned out over more groups. It could also be argued that students won’t be hit hard by an extra $2.25 they wouldhave to pay each semester.

Members of the USG Finance Committee also say RSO members have been pushing them to increase the fee.

Despite these facts, we think a broader look at student activity fees illustrates some problems with another increase.

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Six years ago the student activity was $9.55 per semester. Now it stands at $18.75. A little arithmetic shows the student activity fee has grown about 16.1 percent per year during this period. At the same time, the Consumer Price Index has grown an average of only 3.3 percent per year.

These numbers convey a simple message:The student activity fee has been growing much faster than inflation.

Admittedly, most of these fee increases took place before 1993. It’s also true that the proposed increase is closer to inflation than in the past.

But the fee has grown 96 percent during the 1990s. This makes it difficult for us to see why more money is needed. Are there 96 percent more activities on campus now?

The proposed increase, although closer to inflation than previous increases, would still make the activity fee grow faster than inflation after it is fully implemented.

Although students may not notice an extra $2.25 on their bursar bill every semester, they do not deserve to be asked for more money every few years.

The issue of another fee increase also raises a question:When will the increases stop?

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All of the activity fee increases during the 1990s have been greater than the rate of inflation. This means someone wants to spend more money on student activities more money even when the funds are adjusted for inflation.

Memebers of USG and RSOs may contend that students have more activity options as a result of charging students a higher fee every semester. This may be true but USG needs to determine if more activities are really needed before it continues the trend of spending more and more money on activities.

We also find the proposal surprising when the University is facing a very tough money problem that has prompted the administration to implement a temporary hiring freeze.

Why shouldn’t the financial crisis extend to RSOs and USG? Are student activities immune from campus-wide financial problems?

To top it off, SIUC students have already seen increases in their overall student fees to fund a mass athletics and a mass transit system used by the whole city.

While the fees have been increasing, so has tuition. This often outs students in a more severe financial situation than the University.

In light of all this, we think a student activity fee increase is inappropriate and hope USG votes down the proposal, which is scheduled to be voted on this Wednesday.

We encourage students who feel the same way to tell their elected representatives in USG.