The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) council passed a motion to hold a referendum to increase the CUSA student levy fee by $22.68 per term.
CUSA council passed the motion endorsing the referendum during a Jan. 13 special council meeting.
If the referendum passes, it would increase the current student levy fee by more than 90 per cent, from $25.12 per term to $47.80 per term.
A full-time undergraduate student would see the levy increase to $95.60 for the full academic year.
“Under current circumstances, the CUSA board [of directors] and CUSA executive have raised concerns over the financial security of the organization and its ability to serve students,” the motion reads.
CUSA council’s finance, fees and funds committee as well as the CUSA board finance and governance committee have worked with the CUSA board and executives to create a plan to “secure” CUSA’s financial and operational future amid “ongoing challenges,” according to the motion.
“The existing fee is no longer sufficient to maintain current services and programming levels due to rising costs from inflation, rent and operational expenses,” the referendum question reads.
According to Nathan Bruni, chairperson of CUSA’s finance committee, this motion materialized after deliberations with Carleton’s Board of Governors and university administration.
CUSA public affairs councillor Emma Girvan asked how CUSA decided upon the $22.68 figure.
“Is it a number that is sustainable for years to come, or is something where like next year we’re going to increase it again?” she said.
Bruni said CUSA’s vice-president (finance) Samuel Easby and financial advisor chose the figure after analyzing the association’s funding, budget and long-term sustainability, considering how CUSA is running deficits.
“This is 100 per cent necessary in order for CUSA to keep operating,” Bruni said.
With adjustments within the organization, including cutting positions and adjusting budgets, CUSA will have more funding to allocate for programming and supporting student businesses, according to Bruni.
According to president Sarah El Fitori, CUSA is working with the board to develop a long-term plan to assess the organization’s sustainability, with no plans to ask students for additional fees over the next five years. “Beyond that, I can’t predict the future,” she said.
“I don’t know how long it’s been or if it’s ever been increased,” she said. “But from our understanding, it has not been increased in a very, very long time.”
El Fitori said CUSA will still need to make cuts, even if the referendum passes. “Obviously, we need more money for CUSA so that’s why we decided to do this increase.”
General nomination period
CUSA also kicked off its general election nomination period on Jan. 6.
The nomination period will run until Jan. 20. Nominations will be submitted through a general election nomination form on the CUSA website.
At the time of publication, two students have launched their nomination campaign to be next year’s CUSA president on social media.
Sean Joe-Ezigbo, a fourth-year business commerce student and CUSA’s vice-president (finance) in 2023-2024, has launched his nomination campaign. Joe-Ezigbo ran for CUSA president last year.
Chas Nuhn, a third-year public affairs and policy management student, has also launched his nomination campaign.
Featured graphic by Alisha Velji.
