A 25-cent beer price increase at Oliver’s Pub is here to stay after a motion to roll back the hike was postponed indefinitely at a Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) council meeting Oct. 9.
The motion was introduced Sept. 28 by public affairs and policy management councillor Joel Tallerico.
A pint of domestic beer is currently $5 at Oliver’s Pub compared with $4.75 last year.
In his motion, Tallerico argued that CUSA should keep the cost of student living as low as possible. Referring to this year’s budget, he said the increase in beer prices by 25 cents coincided with an increase in executive benefits.
Tallerico called for his motion to be frozen until May 2013.
In a Facebook note Sept. 30, Tallerico defended his motion.
“This is a wholly unnecessary price increase that’s only happening to bump up executive benefits,” he wrote. “CUSA does not lose money selling beer at the original price of $4.75 a pint. This is not about subsidizing beer, it’s about not gouging students.”
CUSA president Alexander Golovko said the executive benefits have been cut as promised but the budget has yet to be amended to reflect that, in an online statement posted Oct. 4.
He said the price increase isn’t just about beer.
“What the motion failed to account for is the high and rising costs of running a campus bar, especially with the consistently low prices at Oliver’s,” Golovko said.
“Revenue from beer goes to paying staff (who are now working more hours due to the implementation of table service), maintaining bar facilities and keeping the costs of food and other drinks low.”
During the Oct. 9 meeting, Tallerico completely reversed his opinion.
Although Tallerico was not present, his proxy Mark Calderaro read a statement in which Tallerico announced he would be withdrawing his support from his own motion.
In the statement, Tallerico said he made the decision after speaking with public affairs councillor Alex Watson, who originally backed the motion.
“I feel that the goal of this motion has been achieved and have decided to withdraw this motion,” Tallerico said in a statement, adding the goal was to make students aware of the increase.
Council chair Stephanie Feldman said the decision to postpone indefinitely the motion to freeze beer prices means council “declined to take a position on” it and killed the motion.
A motion to freeze the price of beer at Oliver’s cannot be reintroduced until next year.
