NIU President John La Tourette’s Fee Study Committee is considering a request for an increase in The Northern Star student fee despite opposition by some committee members.

Star Faculty Adviser Jerry Thompson said the increase, from eight to 15 cents per credit hour is needed to help pay the salary of a full-time business manager and increase the number of news and editorial pages.

“It’s our longstanding goal to increase the newshole, or non-advertising section of the paper,” Thompson said, adding the proposed increase would allow an extra 200 to 300 editorial pages per year.

Star Editor Beth Behland said last year’s fees paid for improvements in the newspaper this semester including the four extra pages and a USA Today graphics service.

Thd increase, which would generate less than $40,000, also is needed to offset increases in printing costs and a drop in display advertisements, Thompson said.

Friday’s fee study committee meeting was stalled by discussions about The Northern Star’s status as a student organization.

Fee study committee member and Student Association President Huda Scheidelman said, The Star should go through the SA Finance Committee to be funded as a student organization.

“It is taxation without representation at its best. I think this body is being abused for The Star fee,” Scheidelman said.

She added that allowing the fee study committee to consider the fee would violate SA guidelines and eliminate student input in the decision.

However, fee study committee member John Fallon said student interests are represented by SA Treasurer Bruce Williams, Scheidelman and himself as SA Senate Speaker.

“If it is, as they say, a business, they should be self-supporting,” committee member Dave Pack said, although other busineses, such as the Holmes Student Center bookstore receive fee support.

Committee chairman Anthony Fusaro ended the debate and said it is not the committee’s job to consider the status of groups applying for student fee support.

“It (The Star) is a different animal altogether. We have to look at its function to see if it deserves support with a fee,” Fusaro said.

He also said the SA’s concerns were valid, but cannot be allowed to interfere with the fee review process. “We get our guidelines from the Board of Regents. It is not our place to consider SA guidelines.”

Behland said The Star is somewhere between a student organization and a business and depending on the SA for funding could undermine editorial freedom.