Stupid Union Building

Shara Lee from The Peak wrote this week about our two student societies signing on with the university to create conceptual plans for a student union building (see: "Student union building planned for SFU"). This is a letter I submitted to The Peak about our societies running a student union building. I don't know if it will get published, but since I went to all the effort here it is for our 23,000 daily viewers - Johnny

On the subject of having their very own student union building (SUB), the wisdom of our two student societies appears to be, “if we build it, they will stay.” The idea of creating more inviting spaces to keep students on campus is noble, but it’s wrong think that it’s the job of the student societies in the first place, or that a dedicated building is necessary to achieve that goal.

It is the responsibility of the university for creating an attractive campus, not any student society. The student societies certainly have a role making the campus a welcoming and tolerant place, but they shouldn’t be in the business of running entire buildings. So why has the university been able to foist such responsibility to the student societies? Perhaps it’s because our societies are so eager to perpetuate their existence that they’ve jumped at the chance to take on this new role, hire more staff, and create more electable positions. The university, in turn, gets to have the student societies pay the bulk of the costs. After all, we seem to be more than happy to throw money at our student societies (see the Society Development Fund referendum question from the last SFSS election), yet bare our teeth when tuition rises.

If the student societies are keen to foot the bill of creating better student spaces, they should instead consider the option of remodeling existing areas to achieve the same goal. Shara Lee’s article on the subject pegs the cost of the “conceptual plans” alone at over $75,000. As a point of reference, the recently opened Arts and Social Sciences Complex cost $34 million to build. How many million would our SUB cost? How much would student fees increase as a result? I’ll admit that it’s perhaps too early to ask such questions, but it’s not too early to look at more cost-effective alternatives.

Ultimately, it seems an inferiority complex is the true motivation behind a SUB. Quote our SFSS President, Joe Palling: “We’re way behind many universities in that we don’t yet have a SUB.” Yes, the new SUB is not being proposed out of necessity, but rather from a desire to keep up with the Joneses. Oh, and as a place for the GSS to have their own pub, I guess (as one money sinkhole of a pub is not enough).

As we fight for lower tuition fees, we should also demand that our student societies tighten their belts and work to reduce their mandatory membership fees. If the experience of other universities is any example, a SUB will result in increased society fees levied on the student body for years to come (see: UBC, U of Manitoba, U of New Brunswick, and Dalhousie, to name a few). The question of building a SUB will surely be put to the student body in the form of a referendum at some point in the future. I hope when that day comes we students strongly reject any such initiative.

Is the new GSS part of the CFS?

As you probably know, the graduate students have opted to leave the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) to form their own Graduate Student Society (GSS). The new GSS will be fully operational this May.

On a possible related note, the Spring's SFSS elections will (hopefully) determine whether or not the SFSS is granted a divorce from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). I'll discuss the CFS in detail some point in the near future, but for now the latest required reading on the matter may be found here.

There's one big question I have for the GSS: what legal baggage do you carry over from the SFSS? In particular, is the GSS legally a member of the CFS?

There doesn't seem to be anyone speaking about it (at least, my Google searches have not dug up anything) which is strange given the importance of the matter. I've e-mailed for the GSS and the CFS to see if I can get some comment on the matter, and will report back as soon as I get answers. Look ma, mild investigative journalism!

p.s. I'm the other guy running this blog, John LaRusic. I'm a graduate student at SFU Surrey working towards an MSc in Mathematics. My favourite thing to do is watch results during an election night, and my biggest pet peeve is people who crack their knuckles. Hi!

p.p.s. As Patrick likes to remind you, vote for us!

2008 SFSS Elections Announced

Yes, it's that time of year again. Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) elections are less than two months away. SFU undergrads (or more realistically, about 5% of them) will be heading to the polls on March 18, 19, and 20.

Students will be electing six executive officers (President, External Relations Officer, Internal Relations Officer, Treasurer, University Relations Officer, and Member Services Officer) and eight representatives to the Board of Directors (six faculty reps and two members-at-large).

The campaign period runs from February 27 to March 17.

If you're interested in running in the election, nomination forms will be available starting February 11 and must be submitted by February 25. For details on how to run, see the Election FAQ put out by the SFSS Independent Electoral Commission.

Now that SFU's graduate students have separated from the SFSS and have formed their own Graduate Student Society (GSS), they hold their own elections. Elections for GSS President, Treasurer, and Secretary are expected to be held in March, although no details have been released on the GSS website yet.

Patrick