The San Diego State Associated Students Executive Officers will receive an 8 percent wage reduction for the 2012-13 academic year, according to A.S.

Vice President of External Affairs Tom Rivera said the five executive officers voted to decrease their annual pay in an effort to send a positive message to the SDSU community.

A.S. executive officers’ wages are equal to the cost of attendance for a single SDSU undergraduate student living off-campus, according to Section 25 of the A.S. bylaws. Wages are determined by the SDSU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and include tuition and registration fees, living expenses, books and supplies.

Because of recent yearly tuition increases at the California State Uni-versity campuses, A.S. wages also increased to match. However, A.S. opted to reduce its executive officers’ wages.“We didn’t feel it was appropriate for executive officers to be getting raises every time,” Rivera said. “It doesn’t send the right message. Itdoesn’t make people comfortable to talk about. It’s not good.”

A.S. Executive Director Dan Cornthwaite says the executive officersaren’t accepting the full compensation because it could be a potential conflict for A.S. to protest tuition increases and cuts to CSU campuses, while receiving financial compensa- tion for it.

“They’re showing some sensitivity to the fact that it’s not easy for stu- dents to do that,” Cornthwaite said. “They should not benefit on the back end by getting the benefit of the tuition increase by having that added to their pay.”

The projected cost of attendance for SDSU undergraduates living off-campus is $24,362, according to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholar- ships. A.S. Executive Officers will re- ceive $26,982 after the wage reduction, according to Cornthwaite.