By Jennifer Bednard
On February 29, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) released the list of referendum questions that will be on the ballot for this year’s SFSS elections. Within these referendum questions is the proposal that would fund the proposed student union building at SFU Burnaby.
Ali Godson, chief electoral officer of the IEC, explained the process. “There are three ways to get a referendum question on the ballot. One of them is by getting a petition signed by five per cent of the SFU undergraduate student population. Another way is having it approved by forum. The final way is having it approved by the board of directors. [In this referendum] the Schools Building Schools question was approved by forum and the other three questions were approved by the board of directors.”
The first question is concerned with whether or not to add a levy of $1 per semester for full time students and $0.50 per semester for part time students in order to support the charitable organization Schools Building Schools, which Godson explained would use the levy to build schools in Uganda. The question also asks whether or not to allow students the ability to opt out in any given semester.
Question number two addresses a proposed amendment to By-Law 17, which is concerned with referenda. The amendment would address a number of provisions in the bylaw to allow referenda to be held in the fall semester. “It would allow referendum questions to be held in the fall,” Godson said, “whether or not there is a by election.”
The third question has to do with the reallocation of a portion of the Space Expansion Fund to different campus organizations, including clubs and departmental student unions. “Currently, $15 is collected from each student. $5 of that would be reallocated and $10 would remain in the Space Expansion Fund,” explained Godson. The reallocation would not increase the student levy.
Question four deals with the proposed Student Union Building and stadium. A membership levy of $10 would be introduced in January 2014, increasing by $10 each following year until it is capped in 2022. Godson further clarified, saying, “The levy would be pro-rated, depending on how many courses you’re taking each semester.”
The referendum will be held online from March 20 to 22.
For a full list of referendum questions, see page 8.
