Referendum question on collecting fees to increase student space
During the Central Student Association’s (CSA) annual general election happening on Wednesday, March 5 to Friday, March 7, students will be given the opportunity to vote online on a referendum regarding student space on campus.
Kat Lucas, President of Interhall Council and head of the Student Space referendum team, started this campaign to address the lack of viable student space on campus. The Student Space Initiative will aim to update and modify current student spaces on campus, which will be achieved by “updating furniture, installing new receptacles, improving lighting, and repurposing university space into student space,” according to the preamble.
In the initial stages of the referendum, Lucas talked to student organizations on campus, encouraging them to speak with their members and get feedback. The team also launched a survey to collect student feedback, asking students where they prefer to study and how much they would be willing to pay to see better study space on campus, Lucas explained.
On the referendum ballot, voters can decide whether they support the collection of a $2 fee per semester for full-time students (75 cents for part-time students) to fund the improvement of student space. The University of Guelph will match this fee. It will be collected for five years beginning in Fall 2014, and cannot be opted out of. If implemented, the campaign will bring in $750,000 over five years to make a difference in student space on campus.
A student space committee, comprised of students and staff, will be in charge of determining where to allocate funds.
“The majority of the members of the committee will be students, so the student body’s voice will always have priority in having a say of where we will see changes,” said Lucas. “From the survey feedback, the Library, the University Centre and the Science Complex Atrium were the top three places students would like to see changes,” said Lucas.
Some other changes include demand for more individual seating, outlets, and Internet access.
The Student Space Initiative will aim to implement changes on campus as soon as possible, so current students can benefit.
“Many of our proposed uses for the fee can be quickly implemented and students will see the difference the fee makes. For example, adding more tables and chairs would be a quick fix that would benefit the current students within a few weeks of the fee being collected,” said Lucas.
According to Tom Heeman, Vice President of Internal Affairs at CSAHS Student Alliance and member of the Student Space Initiative, “The real benefit of the Student Space Initiative is that, from its original inception, it has been an inherently consultative process.”
“The idea for the Student Space Initiative came from someone who, during the course of the summer, worked with the Physical Resources department. So they got to experience first-hand the issue of student space as a student and also as a worker, and [work with] people who are actively trying to prepare and improve the spaces we live and study in,” Heeman explained.
The Guelph Student Mobilization Committee (GSMC) has taken a stance against this initiative. The GSMC – a committee who strongly discourages increasing fees – launched a “Vote No to the Student Space Initiative Referendum” campaign on Monday, March 3.
Students will be given the chance to vote on the referendum ballot online. The question requires a quorum of 20 per cent of the affected population, and a simple majority.