At a Black Caucus town meeting last night, student leaders said the administration needs to commit to a long-term fund-raising campaign before a student activity fee is deemed acceptable for the construction of the HUB expansion.

The student fee was proposed to student leaders as a means to help pay for the HUB expansion, Black Caucus President Nicole Batts said.

"I've always said as a student leader I would never propose that the students should pay for this," Batts said.

Many people at the meeting said a campaign targeting alumni should be waged to fund the project.

Raising $18 million is definitely feasible, because the successful Campaign for Penn State raised more than $362 million in just five years, Batts said.

"It's all a matter of priorities. We (students) have to let them know that this is our main priority," she said.

"The University president said he will commit $2 million of institutional funds for the HUB expansion," said Tom Eakin, assistant vice president of student programs.

The student activity fee would just be a part of a fund raising package composed of institutional and private funding that would pay for the $18 million dollar project over several years, Eakin said.

Eakin said both institutional and private funding need to be committed in order convince the state to commit to the $4 million for the the Paul Robeson Cultural Center that they vetoed at the beginning of this year.

The cultural center will be included in the the project, but it will be given a higher priority for construction, Batts said.

Including the cultural center in the project could help the University get the money, since it will still be considered higher on the priority list, Batts said.

"Everyone will benefit from a new Robeson. The Panhellenic Council uses the building (for rush functions) and other organizations (use the facility), too," Batts said.

Eakin said the University might have a problem getting the state to fund the HUB expansion because they rarely fund student union buildings.

Unlike Thomas and student services, some faculty and administrators might not be behind the project because they might think the money could be used more efficiently for scholarships and academic chairs, Eakin said.

"There isn't more than one project that can do more for the students," Eakin said, because the HUB expansion would offer additional room to hold educational programming.

A referendum addressing the student activity fee will be put on the Undergraduate Student Government election ballots.