In last week’s issue of The Peak¸ regular contributor Cedric Chen wrote an opinions piece discussing an unnamed SFU club’s upcoming campaign to receive student levy funding. It is clear to anyone following the upcoming election that this unnamed group is, in fact, Schools Building Schools. While we typically enjoy Chen’s insight on SFU issues, his recent article does not display his usual tact and contains misinformation that requires clarification.
Schools Building Schools (SBS) is a federally registered organization founded by SFU students and alumni who are passionate about global change and youth empowerment through technical education. SBS is asking for full time students to contribute $1 per semester ($0.50 for part time students) in the way of a student-fee levy, to provide infrastructure for vocational schools in Uganda that are desperately needed for current and future students to meet their educational potential.
Our first point of contention is in regards to Chen’s claim that we will be imposing this levy “whether [students] like it or not.” In the past three months, 30-plus Schools Building Schools volunteers at SFU have collected almost 2,000 student signatures supporting the levy being brought to referendum. The support and words of affirmation that we have received from the diverse group of students that we spoke with was overwhelmingly positive. In addition we received a favourable vote from 20 out of 23 forum members (a combination of departmental student unions and SFSS board representatives). Furthermore, on March 20 to 22 all students will have the opportunity to vote and determine whether or not this motion is one that is supported by the majority of the SFU student body. If the referendum does pass with a majority vote, and the levy is added to student fees, all students will have the option of opting out and having their $1 or $.50 refunded.
The misleading portion of Chen’s article was his statement that the aforementioned opt out clause had been rejected by Schools Building Schools and by the SFSS forum. This is not accurate. In fact, the motion to add the clause to the referendum question was made and passed by the student forum. Chen attended and voted in favour of the measure himself. It is also worth noting that Chen was one of two sponsors of the opt-out vote motion. As it stands there is a second part to the referendum question, asking students to vote on whether or not an opt-out clause should be instituted. The official wording of the levy question and opt out option is available on the SFSS elections website.
The final point worth addressing from Chen’s letter is his concern that the causes of many organizations bring no benefit to SFU or the SFU community. We contest the notion that SFU would not be benefitting from this initiative and recommend to students that it is imperative to look beyond ourselves and, as President Petter has suggested, “engage the world.” This initiative provides SFU with the opportunity to go beyond student politics and make an investment in education that will undoubtedly contribute to the fight against cyclical poverty.
Through this initiative we are directly engaging with communities beyond our borders, which we argue is in fact adding value to the SFU community. We are asking you, the students of SFU, to think globally and act locally to empower underprivileged youth through technical education.
Again, this is a decision to be made entirely by the students of SFU. Our only request is that members of the student body vote online from March 20 to 22 to support initiatives consistent with their own values, and not someone else’s.
