Melanie Foster, chairperson of the Trustee Finance Committee, presented the motion to the board and Vennie Gore, the vice president for Auxiliary Enterprises spoke on the increases.

He said .5 percent of the increase will go to facilities improvement, while .53 percent would go to debt service and the remaining 2.47 percent being attributed to operating expense inflation. 

"We believe that we provide a very good value for our residents who live with us," Gore said, commenting on the amount of service provided to students who live on campus including a 16-hour meal plan, Combo-X-Change, and things like providing support for students living away from home for the first time. 

Gore said students receive a value totaling about $42 per day. He also said MSU's on-campus plan was the third least expensive in the Big Ten, only above the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota. The University of Michigan's plan was the most expensive. 

Foster, also praised MSU's residence halls and the services they provide. 

“This is, from my perspective, a tremendous plan for our students,” Foster said. 

Dialogue involved the services living on campus provided and how a price increase was necessary to sustain them, though not everyone sitting around the central table was silent about the price increase from students' perspective.

ASMSU President James Conwell said “it’s never really a great thing when costs go up for students," however, “it’s not like costs are going down anywhere else in the country."

"While it is difficult to support a cost increase for students," Conwell said. "I think that this is a great way to provide value for students."