The recommendation will be considered today by the Rules and Judiciary Committee.
The original purpose of Monday's meeting was to discuss three proposals that would establish separate student fees for the Carolina Union Activities Board, Student Television and WXYC radio. All three organizations are now guaranteed funds from the student activities fees by the Student Constitution.
Finance Committee Chairman Tony Larson said CUAB, STV and WXYC receive 42 cents of every dollar collected from student fees.
He said the original proposals were suggested to create more funding for other campus groups by freeing up money in the student activities fees that now goes to these three groups. "The amount of student activities on this campus is growing rapidly," Larson said. "We received requests for $500,000 from student groups, and our budget is only $155,000."
But representatives from all three organizations voiced their opposition to creating separate fees for their funding.
Bill Burton, chairman of student educational broadcasting for WXYC, said he strongly opposes the proposal. "This is a backdoor method to increase student fees," he said. "It's an attempt to charge students something extra for something they already get now."
Under the new funding program, the student body would have to approve any increases requested by the organizations. CUAB President Krisi Young said she is concerned that subjecting future increases to a student vote could be detrimental to her organization. "We are given one-third of student fees for a reason," she said. "We're not supposed to be subject to whatever the political climate on campus is."
After a two-hour discussion, Larson said many pertinent issues had been raised that questioned the need for the proposals. "This discussion leads me to rethink that maybe we should raise student fees."
Larson then proposed a motion to recommend a $6 increase in student fees instead of establishing three separate fees. Members initially failed to pass the increase in a 3-3 vote.
