The Senate branch of the Student Government Association opened discussion about raising the Student Activity fee from $27 to $32 at their Jan. 23 meeting.

Senator Jordan Graham, chairman of the budget oversight committee, pitched the idea to the organization.

“The university is growing,” Graham said. “Whether we like it or not, we’re probably going to be (Division-I) sooner or later, so I think that raising the fee by $5 would be a way for us to take baby steps toward the higher fee that will come with the transition to (D-I).”

Raising the fee gradually would be better than a substantial hike in a short period of time, he said.

Senator Rachel Gandy said the fee should not be raised.

“We aren’t going (D-I) right now and it’s going to go up when we do, regardless,” Gandy said. “So, I think we should just wait until then because fees and tuition are already going up as it is.”

Student opinion should be sought before any proposals are made regarding the fee raise, said SGA President Laura Giles.

“We need to make sure that students are in support of this,” Giles said.

It was proposed and voted  the discussion be tabled until the next meeting on Thursday, Jan. 30.