The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) discussed student concerns over FundQi in its Nov. 26 council meeting, addressing the effectiveness of the service and how many students have opted out of the service this semester.
Executives also shared updates on the association’s emergency hardship fund and a campaign for the university to divest from fossil fuels.
FundQi
FundQi is a service that matches students with scholarships, bursaries and internships. A referendum on a $9.99 per-semester levy for FundQi passed in January.
Students who do not use FundQi still automatically pay the levy, but can opt out and receive the $9.99 back.
CUSA student-at-large Greg Dance started a petition in September for CUSA to hold another FundQi referendum and be more transparent on the opt-out process. Dance also launched a GoFundMe page to fund “anti-FundQi” social media advertising, although the page has since been deleted.
In response to a question from Dance, CUSA president Kathleen Weary said she is aware of concerns from some students over the FundQi levy. Weary said she met with FundQi on the day of the council meeting to discuss the best way forward.
“They’ll be providing more information and adjusting their processing for the next semester in order to make their opt-out process much more visible,” Weary said.
Weary said that because FundQi is in its first year, “it’s hard to put together concrete numbers” on whether the service has succeeded in matching Carleton students with significant funding.
FundQi founder Zuberi Attard also attended the meeting. Attard said FundQi succeeded in connecting students to around $500,000 in scholarships and other funding last year.
In response to a question from Dance, Attard said around 1,000 students opted in to FundQi and roughly 1,000 students opted out.
Attard also accused Dance of harassing students on the Carleton subreddit who said positive things about FundQi.
“Why are you trying to attack students for using a scholarship service?” Attard said. The council chair then told Attard that claims must be verifiable and the question period should not be used to attack others.
Dance spoke to the Charlatan after the meeting about his exchange with Attard.
“It was pretty shocking that he was there and he was there prepared—not even to answer my questions, but prepared to try to discredit me in front of council,” Dance said.
CUSA vice president (finance) Jacob Howell stressed during the meeting that the association does not have ties to FundQi.
Read more of the Charlatan’s FundQi coverage here.
Emergency Hardship Fund
The CUSA emergency hardship fund supports students who are facing unforeseen financial difficulties. The association initially allocated $40,000 towards the fund, which has been fully exhausted, Weary said.
Weary said CUSA is looking to expand the fund and restructure the application process, which strained the committee in charge of reviewing applicants.
“It’s really shown how hard COVID is hitting our students, and how it’s really been a challenging time for a lot of us,” Weary said.
Weary said the university would match all donations to the hardship fund made on Dec. 1, which was Giving Tuesday.
Morgan McKeen, CUSA’s vice president (community engagement), said Capital Collective, CUSA’s merchandise line, has a new website and new collection arriving soon.
McKeen told the Charlatan that all net profits from Capital Collective will continue going towards the emergency hardship fund.
Divestment from fossil fuels
Weary said she met with Carleton administration on Oct. 28 to discuss the university’s divestment plans moving forward and gather more information about current investments in fossil fuels.
“A good percentage of the university’s investments are directly in fossil fuels, so now that we have more information on that, we will be able to lobby with a more informed perspective,” Weary said.
However, Nathaniel Black, an undergraduate student representative on the Board of Governors, said in the meeting that he was told the administration did not know how much of the endowment fund goes towards fossil fuel investments.
In an email to the Charlatan, Black said it appears Weary “has been given more information than I have.”
“My only concern with that is … [the university] did not provide me with the same amount of information when I asked questions at the September meeting of the Board of Governors,” Black wrote in the email.
Weary said CUSA was invited to present their divestment plan at the Board of Governors investment committee meeting on Dec. 11. To prepare for the meeting, Weary said she will meet with student groups and faculty to gather endorsements and support.
