When I was a first-year, people hated Springfest because the council could only afford to bring a band called God Street Wine to perform. Maybe 500 people showed up. Last year, over 3,000 people came to Springfest because the Violent Femmes were a bigger name and the rides and games that we had were more fun. But we basically scraped the bottom of the barrel for money and this year, we may not be able to do the same because we don't have any extra money lying around like we did last year.

All of those services and events cost money--Violent Femmes cost $22,500. The hotel ballroom for the First-Year Formal--which over 1,000 first-years attend--costs several thousand dollars. If we ever want to have an even more popular band and an event that rivals Penn's Spring Fling, we'll just have to find more money to do it with.

We have negotiated a deal with the administration whereby the College organizes transportation for thousands of students who will ride next week to Yale and thousands more who will ride the week after to the airport. These services are provided to the community at the lowest price that will cover their cost. The council doesn't run a profit from any of these events or services. If we want to hire a band and host an event that rivals other schools'--while continuing to provide the convenient and popular services such as shuttle buses--we will need a larger budget.

And raising the term-bill fee isn't our first idea of how to raise more money for campus student groups, events and services. We've tried raising funds and convincing the administration to put more of the University's money into our budget. However, a term bill increase is the only way to raise enough money to make a significant difference.

Those are the reasons for a term bill increase. Please talk to your council representatives about it this weekend before our meeting and tell them how you feel. I hope you will agree with me that the increase is the right policy right now.

Noah Z. Seton '00 is a government concentrator in Kirkland House. He is president of the Undergraduate Council.