Last updated: February 18, 2011 3:10 pm
Renée Andor — Nexus (Camosun College)
VICTORIA (CUP) — The students’ society at Camosun College recently approved unlimited spending for a campaign to combat the University of Victoria’s attempt to leave the Canadian Federation of Students.
In a motion passed at their Feb. 7 board meeting, the students’ society’s signing officers were given power to approve spending over $500 with no maximum amount on the time-sensitive, pro-CFS campaign. Spending over $500 is usually approved at bi-monthly society board meetings.
Michel Turcotte, director of operations, estimates the pro-CFS campaign will cost a few thousand dollars, and cites possible advertising costs for the high amount.
“If it becomes a very polarizing campaign and there’re many people on different sides, and you have to engage in expensive advertising or something to reach out to those people, that’s going to add some costs,” says Turcotte.
Related: Court grants UVic a CFS referendum
In fall 2009, the UVic students’ society petitioned to hold a referendum on continued membership in the CFS. At that time, Camosun’s students’ society spent about $500 rallying against the petition.
Last April, the CFS rejected the petition based on a counter-petition they conducted. UVic then took the matter to court, and in January a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled in favour of the students’ society.
“In the case at bar, there is no doubt that the interests at stake are sufficiently important to warrant the intervention of the court. Because individual members cannot opt out of membership in the CFS, the petition and referendum process represent the only means by which undergraduate students at UVic can participate in a decision as to their membership in the CFS,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
Meanwhile, some students at Camosun are wondering why their students’ society is spending Camosun students’ money on a UVic campaign.
Camosun university transfer student Lauren Pallot says keeping the UVic students’ society in the CFS is the responsibility of the organization itself, and Camosun student fees paid to their students’ society shouldn’t be spent on this campaign.
“What does it have to do with us, really? It’s not really Camosun’s job. It should be the federation’s job,” said Pallot.
Turcotte says it’s important that both schools are part of the CFS to create solidarity, and that the student voice in Victoria wouldn’t be as strong if UVic was no longer a member. He also points out that many Camosun students transfer to UVic.
“Our institutions are so interconnected in that educational experience, that for anyone to believe that anything that happens at one institution does not impact the other is a falsehood,” Turcotte said.
Sahra MacLean, a Camosun director and the CFS provincial board representative, adds that most of the canvassing work at UVic will be done by the society on a volunteer basis.
But, she also says Camosun shouldn’t spend very much money on the campaign because “it’s not our fight.”
“I just don’t really think it’s appropriate to set a dollar amount, and say, “We’re going to spend this amount of students’ money,’” she said. “As passionately as I feel about CFS’ really good work, I don’t think, as a student representative, that it’s appropriate to set aside thousands of dollars for this.”
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