Student organizations are still debating on what will happen to students who opt-out of their fees, headed into the upcoming academic year.
With the Student Choice Initiative (SCI) looming, threatening the long term financial viability of many student organizations, the Graduate’s Student Association (GSA) and the Carleton Undergraduate’s Student Association (CUSA) face a decision. What will happen to students who opt-out of the fees for those unions, but may want to access the union’s services after the fact?
The percentage of students that have decided to opt-out of optional fees won’t be known until registration closes well into September.
This uncertainty makes planning ahead difficult, said Lily Akagbosu, CUSA president. CUSA is yet to release their budget, but are working on forecasts which have up to fifty per cent of students choosing to opt-out. But even this number they are not certain on.
For students who have opted out, they may lose the benefits of some things such as discounts at local partner businesses said Akagbosu. But equity based services such as the Race Ethnicity and Cultural Hall (REC) or the Sexual Assault Support Services on campus, it would be harder to turn people away from, said Akagbosu.
“We want to make sure our approach is not necessarily to send away students, if anything, we want to see how we can show them the value we have, and they can buy into that vision and stay,” said Lily Akagbosu, CUSA President
“We want to make sure that we’re upholding our values, regardless of the SCI. And as an organization, one of our values is inclusion,” added Akagbosu.
The GSA released their budget at the beginning of the month, which forecasted a 70 per cent opt-out rate. If that happens, the majority of graduate students will not have paid. It’s a really hard conversation to have, said Courchene, and one that is still ongoing.
Along with the SCI came changes to OSAP which would see grants and loans cut back. This means people who are now struggling to pay tuition fees may be the ones who are most likely to opt-out, said Jesse Whattam, GSA vice-president (finance).
“Doug Ford’s changes are impacting the most precarious students. In all likelihood, they will might be the people who opt out the most, because they’re the ones who are going to need to save that money,” she said. “But do we want do a double attack on them?”
Potentially in the future, students who are struggling to pay the fee but are still interested in accessing the services may be able to approach the GSA, and discuss with them options, such as a work placement which would help cover the GSA membership fee, said Courchene. But Courchene also emphasized nothing is certain at this stage.
“We want to ensure that students who are coming here are being provided with the services that they need,” he said. “But at the same time, we’ve got to look at the realities.”
Written into the Charlatan’s bylaws is a rule that you have to be a paying member of the organization to be eligible to write.
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