Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor

Next week, San Diego State students will be asked to vote on a referendum to increase student fees to make a number of improvements to the campus.Aside from upgrading buildings managed by Associated Students in order to keep them sustainable, much of the proposed $20 student body fee increase would be geared toward building a greater aura of school spirit.”The idea is to help get people out to games and have more spirit events,” A.S. President James Poet said. “More sneak-peek movies, more concerts and more tailgate events for football and basketball season.”Poet said that if the Student Programming Referendum passes, about $300,000 would be allocated to Cultural Arts and Special Events to put on more weekend and evening programs that include musical performances, guest speakers and film screenings. $100,000 would be available for student organizations to put on their own events. The referendum also calls for a greater effort to connect students with native Aztec culture, such as constructing a large green space on campus.”That component is going to bring some botanical gardens with native Aztec culture to campus,” Poet said. “It will also educate the students about what it’s like to be an Aztec.”Poet also said that he wants to remake AzFest into something similar to the annual Sun God Festival held at the University of California, San Diego.”We need to make it better, promote it better and make it more of a campus-wide event,” Poet said. “We’re going to center it around Earth Day to give it more substance.”The event would promote sustainability and green inititaves, feature student organization and information booths, food, speakers and culminate in a major concert event with a big-name performer. “We want it to be about our Earth in general,” Poet said. “A lot of the multi-cultural organizations will be a part of that. That will bring more school spirit, more school pride and also make a fun event.”Money from the referendum will also be allocated to Aztec Pride, a group of students that work with the President’s office and speak about their experiences at SDSU with alumni and donors. Anton Mironov, a member of Aztec Pride, said he’d like to get more students out to events such as Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the new Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center.”(The referendum) would help us get out to more events like this and get more students to events like this,” he said. “There’re only 10 of us here for 250 alumni (at the ceremony). It’d be nice to see more students involved.”Mironov also plays on the rugby team and said he’d like to see some of the money go to building better venues for SDSU’s club sports.”There’s not a lot of space for fans,” he said. “Little improvements will get more people out to games.”Voting for the referendum will be next Wednesday and Thursday. If approved, the $20 student association fee increase will take effect this fall.