The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) had no choice but to do more with less this year in a budget that includes controversial cuts, student savings, and new mental health campaigns.
Ongoing disagreements with the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) means the association is down another $115,000, but CUSA president Folarin Odunayo said there is no projected deficit.
The 2014-15 budget was passed Aug. 6 at an emergency meeting, which was called after attendance was too low to pass it at the usually scheduled meeting.
Here are some of the budget highlights:
Aboriginal Service Centre:
The Aboriginal Service Centre is facing budget cuts of around $5,000, with money being reduced from employee wages and programming, according to the budget. It is the only service centre facing a significant budget cut with most other service centre budgets increasing.
Complications with staffing led to many students being directed to the university’s new aboriginal student lounge, according to Odunayo.
“Students were very appreciating and happy with the service they received there. We would rather not duplicate that service,” he said.
The Aboriginal Service Centre will remain open, but will operate with one staff member instead of two.
Shady Hafez, the centre’s 2013-14 school year administrative co-ordinator, said talks about the centre’s budget with the CUSA executives have been ongoing. He said he was surprised and disappointed by the decision to make cuts.
“If they’re trying to show aboriginal students ‘we don’t care’ they’re doing a great job if it,” said Hafez. “They have been for quite a while.”
While he said the university-run centre is a great resource, the CUSA centre provides other services, like programming that integrates non-aboriginals.
That task is going to be much harder with one staff member, according to Hafez.
GSA joint projects:
This year, CUSA will receive no money from the GSA for joint projects. Previously, funds of $115,000 have been given to CUSA in exchange for graduate students’ use of the service centres and CUSA space.
Last year, complaints about the level of services available to graduate students resulted in the GSA withholding funds. An ongoing lawsuit is determining the legality of the decision.
“Putting the $115,000 was irresponsible budgeting, so it’s nice to see that they have it as zero this year,” said GSA president Christina Muehlberger.
“We have to resolve the past two years with CUSA. For me moving forward it’s not a GSA-CUSA bad blood battle, it’s the GSA trying to act out the mandate we’re given by our membership,” she said.
As of now, the money is not accessible to either group, according Muehlberger. She would like to see the money controlled by the GSA and accessible to the organization’s own clubs and CUSA service centres by individual application.
That would require a referendum from graduate students later in the year.
Odunayo said despite this gap in funding, graduate students will not be turned away from CUSA services.
No ATM fees:
CUSA will be delivering on a campaign promise to remove ATM fees from the organization’s businesses, according to the budget.
In the 2013-14 year $11,464 was made from bank machine fees at Oliver’s, Henry’s, and Rooster’s.
“We should take as many hits for the larger student population as we can,” said Odunayo. “Putting that extra $1.25 or whatever small amount it is into student pockets can only be a good thing.”
Online elections:
CUSA elections will be moving to electronic voting, according to Odunayo. The new system should end up costing students almost $10,000 less than the previous year if expenses are as projected.
Switching to the electronic voting system will cost CUSA an additional $3,000. Odunayo said larger savings will come from poll clerk wages, whose numbers will be reduced under the new system.
Mental health campaigns:
CUSA’s vice-president (student issues), Maddy Porter, has been given an $8,000 boost in money dedicated to campaigns.
Odunayo said a priority for the campaign is funding mental health awareness campaigns for students.
Related stories
