The Associated Student Government Senate will vote tonight on whether to discontinue giving at least 2 percent of all student activity fees to Martin Luther King Day events.

A provision in Student Activities Funding Board guidelines, which was implemented in 1997, guarantees the minimum amount of funding.

ASG Financial Vice President Ramesh Srinivasan said SAFB dislikes the 2 percent guideline because it forces student groups to plan their event within the two weeks surrounding MLK Day, which means the groups often don’t get the speakers they want.

“The mechanism that is in place often hinders student group ability to do programming,” said Srinivasan, a Weinberg senior. “Also there’s an oversaturation of programming, which is making it more difficult.”

However, Paras Shah, senator for Southeast Asian Student Alliance, said ASG should continue to follow the 2 percent guideline until it begins to have a negative effect on MLK Day. This year, the group brought Ali Mir Husain to speak on MLK Day with SAFB funding.

“The programming for Martin Luther King Day this year was pretty incredible, and I’d hate to see that lost for next year,” said Shah, a McCormick sophomore.

But Srinivasan pointed to several instances over the past two years in which attendance at events was severely hurt because they coincided with the MLK Day celebrations. For example, he said, a student group spent $12,000 on an event during last year’s MLK Day and drew about 45 people, whereas a similarly priced event a month later drew about 180 people. This year, one student group spent $1,800 on an MLK Day event that drew about 40 people, a week after spending $5,000 for an event that packed Ryan Family Auditorium.

Michael Blake, senator for 1835 Hinman, said eliminating the regulation could improve programming.

“It eliminates complacency so that people don’t think once you reach the 2 percent plateau that you should lessen your efforts in achieving better programming,” said Blake, a Medill freshman. “We still want SAFB to give money for the events; however, if they have evidence to prove that they can use the money in a better manner, they are the best judges for that.”

SAFB has tried to cut the 2 percent provision out of their guidelines since it was implemented, but the Senate has always voted against removing it. Students who wrote the provision into SAFB guidelines said the provision was a large reason administrators decided to give students three hours off for MLK Day.

But ASG Exec Board members say the provision is no longer necessary because students have proven they appreciate MLK Day.

“Our commitment to MLK is not dependent on 2 percent,” said Sameer Gafoor, ASG academic vice president. “That is only one indicator of student support. The excitement, enthusiasm and energy reflected in MLK Day events and festivities prove that students really care about not only MLK Jr. Day, but also MLK Jr.”