The undergraduate Student Association is asking its students to raise the mandatory activity fee from $109 to $115 in this year’s referendum, held from Sept. 14 to 18.
The referendum, which is held every two years, asks students to vote on whether to continue paying the mandatory activity fee — the sole source of funding for SA’s $4.5 million budget. The choices to keep and raise the fee are independent.
The majority of the budget — upwards of $3 million — funds the over 200 undergraduate clubs SA oversees and SA events, including Fest and Bullsapalooza, SA Treasurer Laron Fomby told The Spectrum. Approximately $2.45 million is directed towards SA operational costs.
The $109 activity fee is charged per semester, amounting to $218 per year. With the increase to $115, undergraduates will pay $230 annually. With an estimated 22,000 undergraduates enrolled this year, SA can increase its revenues to over $5 million, Fomby said.
Fomby made the announcement during Friday afternoon’s informational session on supplemental funding, arguing that current revenue is not enough to fund the increasing number of SA-recognized clubs. Over 50 clubs were added to SA last year, meaning about 215 to 230 clubs will be active this year.
Supplemental funds — extra funds that clubs can apply to for events and equipment — increased by 52% this year, to approximately $145,000.
Expenses from SA events are rising every year, with SA budgeting $600,000 for Fest and $300,000 for Bullsapalooza.
“The economy is not working,” Fomby told student leaders. “Inflation is not working despite everything.”
A “crisis” over club budgets occurred in May, Fomby told The Spectrum, where he had to divert approximately $250,000 from Bullsapalooza funds into club budgets, raising it from a total of $850,000 to $1.1 million. Many large-scale clubs that qualify to have budgets from $10,000 to $50,000 faced severe reductions in their funding requests for this fall.
The Latin American Student Association had requested around $35,000 and it was reduced by 40%, with an additional 10% after, Fomby said.
To open up additional funds, SA’s Comedy Series and Student Choice Speaker events were canceled for this year, Fomby said. The two had a “bad return on investment,” with turnout too low to justify the approximately $200,000 budget.
A pause in adding new clubs is not an option, Fomby told The Spectrum. The extra revenue may also help smaller clubs, including a possible raise of the minimum budget of $250.
“Every student deserves the right to create a club under SA for whatever interest they believe will create a community on campus,” Fomby said. “It would be a disservice to the students if SA told them, ‘You can’t make a club for this year, or you’re not allowed to do a club.’”
Nearly $100,000 of SA’s budget is spent on five e-board annual stipends of $19,500. Aisha Adam, 2025-26 SA president, spearheaded three unsuccessful attempts last spring to raise it to $24,180, arguing that SA presidents and treasurers consistently work more than 20 hours weekly and were not sufficiently compensated for the extra time.
The request to raise the activity fee also comes weeks after Jack Koscinski resigned from his role as SA 2026-27 president after his e-board — including Fomby — alleged financial mismanagement, attempted fraud and misconduct. Elections to fill the vacancy and the Senate are running simultaneously from Sept. 14 to 18.
A resolution to raise e-board wages will not be considered this year, Fomby said. Instead, he is considering a resolution that would decrease the pay of the three vice presidential roles: advocacy, clubs and events.
“We do not agree with it,” Fomby said. “It’s nonsensical.”
Fomby called the raise to $115 a “compromise,” with the maximum fee that SUNY student governments can set being $125 per semester.
“A six-dollar increase compared to the thousands of dollars of UB charges for students is very small,” Fomby said. “If it doesn’t pass, that’s something I will respect but it’s something that I will definitely fear for next year.”
Mylien Lai is the editor in chief and can be reached at mylien.lai@ubspectrum.com.
Mylien Lai is the editor-in-chief at The Spectrum. Outside of getting lost in Buffalo, she enjoys practicing the piano and being a bean plant mom. She can be found at @mylien.lai on Instagram.
