(The Beacon)
By Will Lyons, Staff Writer lyons14@up.edu
The ASUP senate has approved putting a $15 student government fee increase on the March 25 and 26 ASUP election ballot.
The fee increase, if ratified by students and the administration, would be used to create a major concert fund to host a performer each spring during Weekend on the Bluff.
According to CPB director Sean Ducey, creating a concert fund with a $15 increase would allow the Campus Program Board to book an event costing up to $90,000.
The senate made the resolution to create a major concert fund after 78 percent of students voted in a survey that they would like to see a similar major event as "Rock the Bluff" last semester. 55 percent of students supported using a student government fee increase to finance a concert.
Under current budget constraints, having a major concert without raising the student government fee is "unsustainable," according to ASUP Vice President Kyle Hamm.
The Office of Student Development authorized ASUP to raise the student government between $10 and $30, but Hamm said $15 seemed the most reasonable for students.
"We have to keep in mind that what we pass in Senate has to be passed by the students," Hamm said.
The resolution's sponsors, London Ballard and Anthony Montoya, believe a $15 increase is the amount needed to give students what they want.
"It would allow students to have a concert on campus in a sustainable way every year," Ballard, a freshman, said. "If this passes, we don't see it having to increase again for another 10 years or so."
Senator Josh Cleary voted to put the fee increase on the ballot believing it was what his constituents and students want.
"We can use the funds to bridge the gap between what students want and what UP can provide," Cleary said. "It's an exciting bill."
According to senator Quinten Chadwick, who also supported the bill, it's ASUP's job now to convince the student body of what their student government can pull off with more funds.
"[A major concert] really helps to unify the school and make memories for all of us," Chadwick said.
