The Student Activity Fee Board voted unanimously last week to increase the Student Activity fee at University Park by one dollar — up to $96 — the lowest increase in the history of the fee (it has never remained flat or decreased).

The extra dollar will be strictly used to fund Student Legal Services, which provides free legal advice and representation to Penn State students. Established in 2010, the activity fee-funded group of four attorneys helps students navigate legal issues of all kinds, mostly including landlord-tenant issues and criminal charges.

Typically, the fee level is driven by UPAC requests from student organizations. For the first time in recent history, UPAC actually allocated less money to more groups — due in part to additional rules adopted this year to manage costs — resulting in a zero dollar increase request from the student allocators.

The Student Activity Fee is one of three main mandatory fees that Penn State students pay. This will be the last year that the Fee Board sets its own fee and exists in its current form (we covered the mandatory student fee overhaul in detail last week).

Commonwealth Campuses saw a $2 increase to $102 (campuses can opt into the $96 University Park fee or take that $102). The Fee Board approved that increase almost unanimously, with GPSA President Kevin Horne (also an Onward State editor) abstaining.

For an idea of where most of the Student Activity Fee goes, you can check out the allocation list on UPAC’s website.