Voters solidly supported the increase in the Residence Halls Association's tax from $21 to $22 during student elections held Wednesday and Thursday.

Results from the vote, held at www.student-elections.msu.edu, showed about 67 percent of students voting in favor of the tax, while about 30 percent voted against it. The remaining voters abstained. A total of 1,117 students voted.

"We do a lot of good work, we have a lot of good people, and I think that people were able to recognize that," RHA President Derek Wallbank said, adding that the organization didn't do a lot to garner support for the increase. "We just let it stand on its merits. (The students) decided to endorse us by an overwhelming margin."

The increase means RHA will receive about $14,000 more in revenue per semester.

"I voted for it because it's not going to be that huge of an increase. What I'm paying for benefits the student body as a whole and far outweighs the real costs," French senior Ashley Brandenburg said. Brandenburg also is a resident mentor in Mason Hall.

The increased revenue mostly will benefit Channel 12, the campus movie channel. Inflationary costs require that RHA increase its payments by $2,000 a year for the next three years.

The remainder of the funds will go toward the Office of Programs. Office Director Keith Jones said the increase will be beneficial to students.

"I think it's a good move. Students depend on good quality programs, and they cost money," he said. Programs in the office that likely will benefit from the increase are Special Events, which hosts concerts and speakers, Campus Center Movies, which shows movies at Wells Hall, and the RHA Movie Offices, which rents DVD movies to students. Jones places a high value on the latter.

"You can't go to Blockbuster and pay $22 and rent all semester for free," he said.

Biochemistry junior Patrick Bigelow said the Movie Offices are the reason he voted in favor of the tax increase.

"I voted for it in hopes of getting better DVDs. If it were a $10 increase, it would be a different story," he said.

But while the increase passed, nearly 13,000 on-campus residents didn't vote in the RHA referendum. Family community services senior Sarah Maher was one of those students.

"I didn't vote, but I remember getting an e-mail about it. I'm indifferent to it. I would have to think about what other things it would offer to me," she said.

State News staff writer Agnes Soriano contributed to this report.