SU Elections 2025 Q&A: Halt the Hike Yes-side Plebiscite

The University of Alberta Students’ Union (SU) 2025 election is giving students the opportunity to vote on amending the SU’s policy of tuition advocacy to include the elimination of student debt and achieve free education, presented by Halt the Hike. There is no fee for this plebiscite.

Representing Halt the Hike in this Q&A is Tate Dunham, a fourth-year nursing student.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What is this plebiscite trying to accomplish?

Tate Dunham: It is to amend the policy of tuition advocacy to include the elimination of student debt and free education. I think the goal of this plebiscite is to have it as a long-term goal for the SU to include free education and the elimination of student debt as an advocacy goal. Currently, the policy of affordable education, we believe, is just too vague and doesn’t give a clear, long-term direction for the SU. So we are looking out — as the SU should be — for the best interest of students. In the short-term, focusing on, perhaps harm reduction, minimizing tuition hikes, freezing tuition hikes, providing more student aid, stuff like that. But to have the long-term goal of ultimately free education and the elimination of student debt, as we believe that is in the best interest of students.

For students who don’t know, what is Halt the Hike?

Dunham: It’s to make the SU, the political body which represents all [undergraduate] students at the U of A, take as its goal the elimination of student debt and free education. We’re not committed to a way that we want to accomplish this, because I think there’s a variety of ways the government could accomplish this, and the SU should be advocating for all of the different ways. For example, the military budget or restructuring grant programs, things like that, should be looked at as ways in which we can accomplish this goal.

Why do you think students should care about the work being done by Halt the Hike?

Dunham: I think most students are in student debt with tuition hikes being around the corner, and constantly occurring. We’ve seen the Campus Food Bank (CFB) go up in the numbers of utilizations. As well, with inflation, economic hardship is on everyone’s minds. This is a good way that we can alleviate some of that economic hardship. Especially focusing on a long-term goal to make the students’ lives easier. I know people that are working one or two jobs, and that’s insane to do while you’re a student. We’re trying to make that less of a reality as it currently is. 

– With files from Kathryn Johnson.