MELISSA HALTERMAN/Arizona Daily Wildcat Emily Upstill, a political science freshman, shares her ideas for the UA yesterday afternoon at the ASUA candidate forum. The proposed student activity fee took the stage.

Nearly all of the ASUA candidates said they would support the proposed $15 to $20 student activity fee at a candidate forum yesterday.

Three of the four presidential candidates said they were in favor of the fee, which would provide funding for campus concerts and guest speakers, while only two of the 20 senatorial candidates opposed the idea.

Matt Carr, an Associated Students of the University of Arizona senatorial candidate and pre-business sophomore, said the fee is a nominal amount that would unite students on campus.

"It also exposes freshmen and sophomores to different activities," he said.

But Pita Salido, a senatorial candidate, said she opposes the fee because the price is too steep.

Salido, a political science and creative writing sophomore, said she believes students are bombarded with too many fees freshman year, such as the CatCard fee. She said it would be better if the fee were charged at a gradual rate."It's too soon and unrealistic," she said.

Blake Buchanan, an executive vice presidential candidate and journalism sophomore, said he supports the idea of students choosing whether they want a fee.

"My personal opinion is that I would promote a $5 activity fee instead of $25 because it's an extremely large amount," Buchanan said.

Sara Birnbaum, an executive vice presidential candidate and political science sophomore, said she supports the activity fee, as she is a strong advocate of student involvement.

Among the presidential candidates, industrial engineering senior Amanda Meaker said the activity fee is a good idea because it supports student activities on campus, but she would like to see it begin around $5 to $10.

"It would be better if we started at a lower amount and eased into a transition," she said, "unlike the tuition increases."

Josh Shapiro, a presidential candidate and economics junior, said he is against the activity fee because $25 is too high.

"It's never been done," he said. "So I would support it if it was lowered to $5 or $10, and we worked from there."

Shapiro also said he would like to know exactly where the estimated $1.4 million would be going.

"Dave Matthews Band cost about $100,000, and it's not like we're having 14 Dave Matthews concerts," he said.

Alistair Chapman, a presidential candidate and molecular and cellular biology senior, said he finds himself in an awkward situation, as he is also a student lobbyist.

"As a lobbyist, I work in the best interest of the students, and most students are supportive of having a fee," Chapman said. "But, personally, to increase the quality of education and programming, I think $15 is appropriate."

Brian Raphel, a pre-business junior and presidential candidate, said he is totally supportive of the fee if he is provided a program list.

The candidate forum, held north of the Student Union Memorial Center, allowed the candidates to speak about their platforms and personalities.

Following the speeches, the candidates answered questions from the audience.

Andres Patino, a communication senior, attended the event to learn candidate positions before he votes.

"There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed, and I wanted to hear what the candidates have to say," he said.

Despite low student turnout, Jordan Miller, an administrative vice presidential candidate and pre-business sophomore, said she is confident the candidates' messages will be publicized.

"Most of the people in the audience are student leaders," she said. "So they will take the information they get here and take it back to their clubs."

Gain Sann Jue, an elections assistant and pre-business sophomore, said although many students did not show up to the forum, the elections promotion with free Eegee's on the UA Mall is going well.

"The important thing is that students know about the actual elections and vote," Jue said.

Even Meaker, who spoke at hall government meetings with Shapiro, said the visits were not self-promoting. Rather, they tried to encourage students to vote.

The ASUA primary elections will be held Feb. 25-26, followed by general elections March 3 and 4.