While University student organizations are researching the possibility of implementing a student activities fee, most other Big Ten schools already have one in place.

Of the 11 schools in the Big Ten, only three, including Penn State, do not have a student activities fee or something similar. These fees pay for different services at different schools but usually fund student governments, clubs and services.

But Penn State has to be careful when looking at other schools' use of a student activities fee, said Paul Kasper, Student Organization Budget Committee chairman.

"Every school's activity fee covers different things," he said. "It's like comparing apples and oranges."

Penn State student organizations are considering implementing an activities fee to be distributed among different student organizations. SOBC is responsible for distributing the $400,000 currently allocated by the University.

If the fee is implemented, it could bring in an additional $2.2 million. Sneha Viratia, Undergraduate Student Government Big Ten relations director, said she is researching the use of a student activity fee at other schools and trying to gather information about costs and what the fee covers.

Tony Wagner, president of the University of Minnesota Student Association, said Minnesota charges a $138 fee three times a year, but the money is not distributed only among student organizations.

Minnesota Health Services receives $60 of the $138 and recreational sports assumes another $15, Wagner said. This leaves $63 to be distributed among student organizations, cultural centers, student unions and a course information book that describes general education classes.

The student government at Minnesota receives about $100,000 a year, Wagner said. Penn State's USG receives only about $15,000.

Michigan State University's student government taxes students $20 a year and uses the money for student organizations. The student government can provide students with free legal counseling in any type of case, said Paul Zelensky, Michigan State's assistant director of student activities.

Purdue University's student government receives a subsidy of $30,000 from the administration and earns thousands more from fund-raisers. Students also pay a $28 activities fee for recreational sports and facilities, said Purdue's student body President Angela Hale.

Ohio State and the University of Iowa currently have no specified fee but are researching the possibility, said Ohio State USG President Chris Norman.

Penn State's Executive Student Action Council, headed by Kasper, has formed a student activities fee committee -- of which Chris Saunders, USG president, is a member.

Although Kasper is reluctant to make quick comparisons between Penn State and other Big Ten schools, Saunders said it is easy to see where Penn State stands.

Saunders said Penn State definitely ranks last among Big Ten schools in terms of student organization funding -- especially where student government is concerned.

At Association of Big Ten Schools meetings, Penn State's USG is an object of amusement because of low funding, Saunders said. "At every meeting they offer to pass around a collection plate for Penn State," he added.