With the Bullring relying on CSA full-time staff, its existence is now threatened
Recent changes to student funding at universities in Ontario have raised concerns over whether many student-funded organizations will stay afloat. The new changes allow students to opt in or out of the organizations and services they’d like to fund. This includes the Central Student Association (CSA) at the University of Guelph.
The CSA owns, funds, and operates many of the amenities on the Guelph campus that are offered to students. These features include the student bus pass, the food bank, the Safewalk program, as well as many clubs across campus. Among the most popular of these amenities is the on-campus café The Bullring.
“The Bullring offers the best food on campus, at affordable prices. And, at the same time, you feel as though you are eating in your own living room,” said second-year undergraduate Eyal Brodsky in an interview with The Ontarion.
“We don’t receive a student levy, but the CSA does,” said Katrina Lindsay, operating manager at The Bullring.
The CSA and its subsequent organizations are funded by a student levy, which is the required fee that students pay as part of their tuition that helps fund many of the luxuries that are offered on campus. The CSA student fee is approximately $17, according to Student Financial Services at U of G.
Lee Anne Clarke, business manager for the CSA, told The Ontarion that part of the operating costs of all those services is five full-time, non-elected employees that are in charge of balancing books, accounting, or anything a conventional head office would do. In addition, the CSA also negotiates the student bus pass stickers and runs the student food bank, among many other services.
Clarke said that without proper funding to the CSA, the managerial and financial operations of The Bullring will be non-existent, threatening its future on campus.
“If the U of G Central Student Association has a significant reduction to revenues from U of G CSA student fee, many of our operations and services will be significantly reduced or cease to exist,” Clarke said.
Although it is likely, it’s still uncertain if The Bullring will survive any cuts to the CSA fee. It all depends on how many students decide to opt-in or opt-out of the fee, as the government has still not released any formal details on the new campus policies, according to The Star.
Given the expected decline in students funding the CSA in the upcoming years, there is a good chance that even one of the campus’ most beloved destinations could experience a few budget cuts, if not, a full closure.
As a result, The Bullring could also lose a few of their other attractions that keep the restaurant popular, such as open mic night.
“Yes, that’s definitely a potential [loss],” said Lindsay. “It will depend on how [the CSA funding] trickles down, but it is certainly our mandate to try and give things back to the students programming-wise.”
Clarke said that part of the CSA full staff is John Bonnar, the event programmer for the CSA. He is often the man in the background setting up equipment or working a soundboard. Worst case scenario: without funding to pay people like Clarke or Bonnar, The Bullring will not have the funds or financial capability to continue existing as it has been.
The Bullring may also have to cut positions leaving students out of a job.
“I hope that the Bullring will be able to continue to run open mic night, as well as the many other programs it offers students,” said second-year undergraduate Emily Stone. “They are a major reason for why many students, including myself, love the restaurant.”
With the possibility of less student funding to keep them afloat in the future, it is unclear if The Bullring will have to raise their affordable prices, which is one of the main reasons students flock to the eatery on a daily basis.
“There are so many factors,” said Lindsay. “It all comes down to what the CSA will look like after the opt-in and -out [is implemented]. We can’t make any decisions, cuts or price changes until we know what is happening [with the CSA], and at this point, we don’t know.”
Students can rest easy for the time being knowing that The Bullring won’t change too drastically in the immediate future.
“It’s business as usual for us right now, and trying to carry on and do what we’re continuing to do,” said Lindsay. “It comes down to the CSA, and [The Bullring] is just the trickle down from all of that. So we don’t actually know what will happen with them. Once we know what the CSA will look like, we’ll know what The Bullring will look like.”
Although The Bullring won’t be changing any of the things that make the homely eatery so attractive any time soon, it is unclear what the future holds for the beloved café.
In the end, it seems as though the future of The Bullring is dependent on how the new changes to the student levy at the U of G will affect the CSA.
Photo by Alora Griffiths/ The Ontarion