Referendum could raise student fees

Vote on $3.20 more to EWB,UMREG, and icePIRG

JENELLE PETRINCHUK STAFF

Three student-fee referendum questions will be presented to students this year during the 2007 University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) general elections — the first referendum at the U of M since 2002.

Engineers Without Borders, University of Manitoba Recycling and Environmental Group (UMREG) and Public Research Interest Group (icePIRG) are all asking for funding from students as part of this month’s referendum. If the levies are approved by students, they will be collected by UMSU as part of annual student fees and distributed to the student groups.

Each of the three groups needed 1,100 signatures from students to make their referendum questions official: 1,000 when presenting their versions of the questions and then another 100 after presenting UMSU’s official wording.

Collecting the signatures wasn’t a problem for all three groups. Tim Schwinghamer, member of icePIRG — a research group included in the referendum — said that students were generally enthusiastic about the question and the group’s cause, which deals with social and environmental justice.

“It was very easy to get signatures,” he said. “We found many students would sign as soon as they heard student groups needed signatures to get a question on the ballot. They just fully endorsed the process of democracy in that respect.”

Students already pay $2 in fees to UMREG each year, and are being asked to increase this amount by 50 cents. The original levy was approved by students in the 1999-2000 school year according to Anders Annell, referendum campaign manager and coordinator for UMREG.

Annell explained the increase has partially been proposed to offset inflation, but also to expand. “Largely, we want to expand our recycling program,” he said, “We’d like to do some other promotional, education materials and some events and we just haven’t had money for that in the last few years.”

The other two levies are new. Engineers Without Borders are looking for 70 cents per student, per year, while icePIRG is asking for $2.

“The money will be attributed as grants and as a scholarships based on academic merit and merit of the project and for research,” said Schwinghamer on how icePIRG plans to use the money.

Laura Robson, from Engineers Without Borders, explained that if the EWB levy is approved — which would add up to about $14,000 a year — it would be directed back to long-term projects aiding developing countries, adding to current initiatives in Ghana or helping a clean water project that is currently in place.

“The money would go so far to help so many people,” she said, adding that 35 cents isn’t much to a student, but means a lot to those in need.

If all three questions are voted in, students will be adding $3.20 to their UMSU student fees every year. Although the referendums are not directly related to the UMSU elections, they are being held at the same time to save money. Students will be able to vote from Feb. 28 to March 2 on both the referendum questions and UMSU executive and community representative positions.