Ab SchThe following is a preview of Students’ Council, which meets every second Tuesday at 6 p.m. in University Council Chamber (room 2-100 located in University Hall). The next meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 9, where free food will be provided for all attendees.
Students’ Union Proposal to Increase Membership Fee
The SU Executive Committee has proposed to increase the mandatory SU membership fee by 7.7 per cent annually over each of the next three years.
Tomorrow, #uasu Council will discuss a proposal to increase our SU membership fee. You can read more here: https://t.co/Y8WrKtfywg #ualberta
— Navneet Khinda (@uasupresident) February 2, 2016
The SU says the increase is necessary to fund the proposed minimum wage increases the Government of Alberta promised when the Alberta NDP and Rachel Notley were elected last year. Notley has stated that she expects to raise Alberta’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2017.
In a letter penned to undergraduate students, SU President Navneet Khinda and Vice-President (Operations & Finance) Cody Bondarchuk wrote that the increases are a must, as the other alternative would be to make cuts to existing programs.
“While any increase in fees is of concern to students who already pay a significant amount in tuition and university fees, we believe students value existing programming and services,” Khinda wrote in the letter.
Current membership fees cost $39.05 per full-time student in the Fall and Winter terms, $19.04 per part-time student in Fall and Winter, and $24.73 per student in Spring and Summer terms.
If the increase is approved, membership fees would be as follows*:
Fall and Winter (per full-time student)
2015–16: $39.05
2016–17: Increase by $3.00
2017–18: Increase by $3.25
2018–19: Increase by $3.50
Fall and Winter (per part-time student)
2015–16: $19.04
2016–17: Increase by $1.50
2017–18: Increase by $1.63
2018–19: Increase by $1.75
Spring and Summer (per student)
2016: $24.73
2017: Increase by $1.50
2018: Increase by $1.63
2019: Increase by $1.75
The letter states that currently, 65 per cent of SU employees make below $15 an hour, and the increase in membership fees would require an additional $1 million for its operating budget in 2018.
*Exact membership fees through 2019 is currently unknown, as SU membership fees will increase by percentage in accordance to Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures for inflation.
The Gateway DFU Mandate Amendment Presentation and Plebiscite Question
The Gateway, the official student newspaper and campus media source for the U of A, is looking to change their mandate for the 2016–17 academic year.
Due to continuously declining print newspaper pickup and increasing online web traffic, The Gateway has proposed changes to their mandate, where they would publish at least four print issues and 500 unique contest posts on The Gateway website in each Fall and Winter term.
Currently, The Gateway’s mandate is:
– To publish at least 15 issues of The Gateway during each Fall or Winter Term
– To offer advertising rates discounted by at least 10 per cent to the SU and registered student groups
– To develop, advertise and implement actions to resolve complaints about the editorial policy of The Gateway and its staff
– To devote a portion of any budget surplus to providing scholarships for undergraduate students
According to The Gateway, campus newspaper pick up has declined by an estimated 5,000 issues per week since 2012, while online views have increased by 120,000 views over the semester in that same span.
Pick up
2012: est. 7,000 per week
2015: est. 2,500 per week
Online
2012: est. 122,000 page views
2015: est. 242,000 page views
Faculty of ALES councillor Justis Allard will also be moving to approve The Gateway’s Dedicated Fee Unit plebiscite question for the March 2016 SU Elections.
Every five years, all DFUs must go through a renewal process via a non-legally binding plebiscite question during the SU election period. Students’ Council will then view the question’s results, then debate and vote on whether they feel students value the service that assessed fee provides. Undergraduate students currently pay $3.39 per Fall and Winter term for the Gateway Student Journalism Fund, and $0.43 per Spring and Summer term.
The question on the ballot will be as follows:
Do you support the continuation of a Dedicated Fee for the Gateway Student Journalism Fund, on the conditions that:
1. each full-time and part-time student will continue to be assessed $3.39 in each of the Fall and Winter terms and $0.43 in each of the Spring and Summer terms in which they are enrolled;
2. the fee will continue to be disbursed to the Gateway Student Journalism Society Board of Directors for operating The Gateway, a not-for-profit organization;
3. it will continue to be a student-run and student-directed media organization with a campus focus in accordance with its mandate as per Schedule 6000 of the Students’ Union Bylaws;
4. it will exercise independence in its editorial and business decision-making; and 5. Augustana students will continue to be exempt from the fee.
