ASUAF is considering asking students for an increase to the fee that funds the student government and campus media.

The proposed fee increase, which would go to a vote of the students in April, would help improve the quality of KSUA, the Sun Star, and the caliber of programs offered by the Concert Board, said ASUAF Sen. Henry Cole, the proposal's sponsor.

"I'm not saying that they're bad," he said. "But there's always room for improvement."

The fee increase would help KSUA upgrade to high-definition radio and allow the Sun Star to increase employee wages, Cole said. The Concert Board, which sponsors several of the bands that come to campus, could draw bigger acts, he said.ASUAF could provide more programs.

In its early stages, the referendum has three options: students could keep the current $35 per semester fee, raise the fee to $45 or raise it to $55.

Of the organizations that the fee hike would affect, none insisted they absolutely need the money. But all said the money would improve their programs.

"If we don't get the increase, we'd still be fine as an entity," said Nick Brewer, general manager at KSUA.

The student radio and television station spends nearly two-thirds of its annual budget on employees, Brewer said. Other costly items on the budget include network memberships and content subscriptions.

With KSUA's estimated yearly budget at around $117,000, the station has some room to spare, Brewer said.

But more money will be needed to transition from analog to HD radio, Brewer said, though he was not positive when the station would have to change over.

Brewer and Cole hope the proposed fee increase would enable the station to put aside money each year to cover the huge one-time cost, which Brewer expects could cost more than $100,000.

As for the Sun Star, the money isn't needed, said Lacie Grosvold, the ads manager.

"Not right now," she said. "We're doing pretty well."

Current performance, though, is not the point, Cole said.

"I don't want to give the Sun Star more money to do what it's doing now," he said. "It could be a lot better."

When asked what the Sun Star could improve with the extra money, Grosvold suggested raises for employees and more equipment.

"It would give a higher incentive to work for us," she said.

Currently, she said, the funding to print more issues and to have more color is available, but it hasn't been discussed in-depth, Grosvold said.

The Concert Board brings music, comedy and other acts to UAF. Some of its members, along with Brewer and Student Activities Office employees, recently traveled to a conference in Nashville by the National Association of Campus Activities.

Jeff Stepp, student activities coordinator, said of all the campuses represented at the conference, UAF's Concert Board had the smallest budget.

The Concert Board's annual budget is about $65,000. Other campuses, although larger, have budgets of more than $600,000, Stepp said.

"I think the students should be demanding more from all of us," he said.

Although the Concert Board doesn't have the money to bring big-name bands and acts to Fairbanks, Stepp said the programming they do provide is good and the students like it.

Of course, ASUAF would benefit from the funding increase as well. Cole said as staff union benefit requirements go up, along with other costs, ASUAF has been forced to draw out of its rollover account, which the student government treats as a "rainy day" fund.

While some of the funds ASUAF collects go toward unavoidable costs, such as paying for phone service, a lot of the money goes to funding programs like Club Council, on-campus recycling, student travel funding and events like last year's masquerade ball.

"Once you start cutting [those], we might as well not be here," Cole said.

Cole said he realizes most students aren't fond of increasing fees.

"I'd like to think that it'll be popular enough to pass," he said. "I think students realize the importance of a student newspaper and student radio station and want to see them succeed."

While ASUAF may hope for the increase, some students are staunchly against it.

"They're jacking the price of everything else," said Lindsay Briggs, a sophomore electrical engineering student, referring to not just ASUAF fees, but to increases in housing, tuition and other costs at UAF.

Kacie Timothy, a junior biology major, thought of the reactions of the study body.

"I know there are other students who have never read the Sun Star, never listened to KSUA, and have no affiliation with the Concert Board or ASUAF," she said. "I feel like to the students who don't use these areas or care to take part in them, this fee is unfair and will make that portion of the student body upset and rightly so."

Ultimately, the decision lies with those students, Cole said.

"It's the students' money," he said.