A letter-writing campaign, led by the Student Senate, debuted in the Brickyard yesterday collecting signatures on letters to be sent to UNC President Erskine Bowles.

The initiative garnered more than 300 signatures from students passing between classes, according to Sen. Adam Compton, a sophomore in construction engineering management.

Between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., students were given free pizza while senators explained the campaign’s goal — to regulate tuition and fee rates for up to five years.

“It’s something we need,” Compton said. “We need some kind of guarantee in tuition.”

Students seemed interested after hearing the platform, and many signed letters to be sent to Bowles, establishing a firm stance from N.C. State, he said.

“It would be nice to plan for the four or five years that you’re here. A lot of students liked the idea,” Compton said.

Bowles will be the person to advocate a model to regulate the tuition and fee expenses to the Board of Governors, who will make the decision.

“Hopefully more people will come in [tomorrow],” he said. “Tuesday’s a busier day in the Brickyard and we’ll have another 22 pizzas.”

Compton said he developed the campaign with the help of Student Senate President Forrest Hinton, a junior in mathematics education.

Hinton pointed to the initiative as being supported by members of the administration, and said Provost Larry Nielsen is passionate about developing a predictability model.

“The turnout went surprisingly well,” he said. “A lot of people are dumbfounded that we don’t do this already.”

According to Hinton, many corporations and organizations develop their budgets years in advance. He said the University depends on funding from the General Assembly and has to factor in government funding such as financial aid into annual budgets.

“The University will have to look first to see which predictability models we like,” he said, adding that the decision will then be presented based on what fits with the UNC system and the BOG.

Hinton said the support from the administration and BOG is a positive sign to moving the campaign forward, but will take extensive research to balance the needs of the institutions.

Kate Luckadoo, a sophomore in communication and anthropology, said she stopped by the table between classes, and said she didn’t know much about tuition and fees regulation before Monday.

“The impact will be in the number [Bowles] sees responding to this,” Luckadoo said.

She pointed to a high response rate as showing this is an issue that is important to NCSU students.