Statement: 2024 UASU election results

To our campus community, 

In the 2024 University of Alberta Students’ Union elections, The Gateway ran a referendum to create a dedicated fee unit. With 60 per cent of the vote for the “yes” side, The Gateway’s referendum has passed.  

For the past several years, The Gateway has run off of reserve funds, advertisements, grants, and donations to continue our operations, with a team that is significantly smaller than it used to be. Despite the uncertainty that our loss of funding brought, our team of student journalists continued to deliver award-winning, hard-hitting stories that covered the issues that mattered most to students. And tonight, that work has paid off. 

When I think about this win, a lot comes to mind. I think about the volunteers who gave their time writing for The Gateway, on stories and issues that mattered to them. I think about our DFU campaign team, who dedicated hours and hours long before the campaign even started. I think about Gateway alumni, spanning decades, who offered any help and advice they could give to help us ensure this win. I think about my staff and senior volunteers, who covered the SU elections not knowing what was in store, and attended Results Night, learning the outcome of our referendum live, not reacting to our win, despite how difficult that was. And lastly, I think about the community we serve, who diligently read the stories we publish, then came out to support us when we ran our referendum campaign. 

Without any of these people, The Gateway wouldn’t have passed our referendum. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to continue doing the work that we love so much. 

But, we know that we have to keep proving ourselves and our worth to the university community. The Gateway will continue to cover the stories that students care about. Stories that wouldn’t see the light of day without a student journalist there to cover them. 

Covering the University of Alberta is a privilege, and The Gateway is honoured to be allowed that opportunity again. 

Regards, 

Katie Teeling

2023-24 Editor-in-Chief