Students voted “yes” Sept. 23-24 in a referendum to cancel the $25 University Centre levy from their student fees and increase the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) operating levy by $25 per semester.
Approximately 95 per cent of ballots cast voted to transfer the money to the GSA’s operational levy, which could be used towards events, conferences, and funding for clubs and services, according to the GSA website.
The website said 507 students voted yes, 23 voted no, and two ballots were spoiled.
Around 14 per cent of graduate students voted, one of the highest turnouts ever, according to GSA president Christina Muehlberger.
The money from the unicentre fees previously went to the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) to pay for graduate student usage of CUSA service centres, among other services.
“The CUSA executive has repeatedly refused to provide the GSA with a list of services and programming that is paid for through the UC fee,” said Muehlberger, adding that graduate students have been previously excluded from using the services.
“CUSA is already preventing full graduate student participation and service centers are not advertising to graduate students,” she said. “Graduate money should be going to services that they’re able to use.”
CUSA president Folarin Odunayo said graduate students are still welcome to use the services and that CUSA does not discriminate against anybody regardless of their status as a student.
“We’re not going to stop graduate students from using the services. We never have and we never will. We’re all about providing services to students,” Odunayo said.
Muehlberger said CUSA-administered services would be able to apply for funding from the GSA as long as they advertise to graduate students.
“We don’t want to make it a difficult process. The intention is to make sure graduate students have access to service centres,” she said.
Odunayo added that CUSA’s lawsuit is still ongoing against the GSA regarding the graduate student levies of 2012-13 and 2013-14, which the GSA has not paid.
“CUSA still feels that we’re entitled to the money owed to us for the last couple of years,” he said.
Odunayo said student services continue to be CUSA’s main priority and the operating budget for 2014-15 was set without the funds from the graduate student levy.
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