Next week, students at St. Cloud State University will participate in an election that will play a large role in the economic viability of athletics at the university. The student athletic fee referendum will be on the ballot during the fall Student Government elections which run from Monday, Nov. 15 through Wednesday, Nov. 17. The athletic department at SCSU faces a projected $550,000 budget deficit for fiscal year 2012. On the ballot, two referendum questions will ask students if they support an increase in the student activity fee in order to partially maintain athletic programs at St. Cloud State.

The current student athletic fee is $2.20 per credit hour. One referendum question asks if the activity fee should be increased by 74 cents per credit. The other asks if it should be increased by $1.00 per credit. A yes vote for both the first and second question would increase the fee by $1.74 per credit. A no vote for both the first and second question would not increase the fee at all. Last fall, SCSU students overwhelmingly supported an athletic fee increase.

The Student Government Association will host two student forums to explain the referendum and answer questions. The first forum will be Wednesday, Nov. 10 from 10-noon in the Cascade Room of Atwood Memorial Center. The second forum will be held Friday, Nov. 12 from 11-1 p.m. in Voyageurs South of Atwood Memorial Center.

All students will receive an email through their HuskyNet email account in order to participate in the online election.