Students Have To Dig Deeper

Scorecard from UMSU president

GARRY SRAN

It’s the time of year to be broke. At least it is if you are a university student. Those of you returning to the university know the feeling very well: one day, you can afford to go out for lunch with your friends, the next morning you pay your tuition, and suddenly you are flat broke. For those of you coming to university for the first time, you are about to find out how much the rising cost of education hurts. But I should go back to the events of this past spring, and explain.

On March 6, the Doer government presented its seventh budget, and for the seventh consecutive year, announced that tuition fees at Manitoba colleges and universities would be frozen at 10 per cent below 1999 levels. Other budget highlights included a three-year funding guarantee for colleges and universities, an extra $1.3 million for Manitoba graduate scholarships, and $1.5 million more for the Manitoba Bursary Fund. Simply put, the provincial budget was good news for students and our schools.

When I said earlier that tuition is frozen, I mean that your tuition is actually a few hundred dollars less then it was in 1999. Unless you are studying law, dentistry, or pharmacy, or you are an international student. Come to think of it, all students are paying more again this year, thanks to a little loophole in the tuition fee freeze called “ancillary fees.” Last year, in spite of the largest provincial operating grant ever, the University of Manitoba’s Board of Governors unilaterally decided to charge students an extra $465. Thanks to the work of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), the Manitoba government gave universities across the province millions of extra dollars to limit that increase to $150.

Once again, this spring, the university was up to its same dirty tricks. In spite of 60 million new dollars over the next three years, the university announced plans to create new ancillary fees of $100 per student, plus up to $15 per credit hour if you take laboratory courses, and increased fees for international students, who now pay 180 per cent more then Canadian students.

Meanwhile, Brandon University was increasing its fees as well. BU administrators proposed a $3 per credit hour “student service fee” — for services that do not exist — as well as a differential fee increase for international students to 125 per cent. The Brandon University Students’ Union worked with their faculty association to propose an alternative budget matrix. Thanks to their work, the Brandon University Board of Governors ultimately rejected the fee increase for international students. However, all BU students were left with a $90 fee increase.

Back in Winnipeg, representatives of the Canadian Federation of Students — the provincial and national students’ organization that represents 500,000 students coast-to-coast — met with Advanced Education Minister Dianne McGifford. Meetings also took place with the Council on Post-Secondary Education — the provincial body that divides up government money to the various universities and colleges — but to little avail. In spite of their promises of “frozen tuition” and “accessible education in Manitoba,” students were continually told to wait and see.

Just days before the May 23 U of M Board of Governors meeting, UMSU received confirmation of the fee increases. In the days leading up to the meeting, UMSU representatives undertook a campaign against the new fees. Finally, on May 23, over 250 students came to the Board of Governors meeting to protest the unjustified rising tuition that university administrators were

planning. During the meeting that day, students learned that the provincial government would only allow an increase of $100 per student and told the university that lab fees were unacceptable. With its newly imposed fee limits, government appointee to the Board of Governors Terry Sargeant amended the proposed budget to increase international students’ differential fees to a whopping 180 per cent!

Thanks to the short-sightedness of the Board, an international student in science this year will pay $6,500 more than a Canadian counterpart. What’s more alarming is where all the money is going. According to recent articles published by the Winnipeg Sun, the Winnipeg Free Press, and the Manitoban, niversity administrators have seen huge increases in their salaries. The salary of president Emöke Szathmáry, has increased by $58,000 in just over two years. I can’t imagine having to earn an extra $2,200 a month!

The morning following the Board meeting, a group of international students went to the Legislature to demand a meeting with government leadership. That morning, we received a great deal of media coverage as we met with the minister of advanced education, and expressed our outrage at the way that universities were being allowed to ignore government policy.

Following the events at Brandon University and the U of M, the University of Winnipeg announced plans to increase ancillary and international differential fees. On June 26, the day of the U of W Board meeting, 75 students converged on the Manitoba Legislature, demanding written commitments from each and every MLA to enforce the tuition fee freeze. While the U of W fees were ultimately passed later that day, we caught the attention of the media and the government. While we may have lost the battle, the war is far from over.

Over the coming weeks, UMSU will be working with the Canadian Federation of Students to ensure a meaningful tuition fee freeze in Manitoba. We are continuing to meet with government, to campaign for accessible public education and to oppose the rising tuition fees for both international and Canadian students. But we can’t succeed without you. Visit the UMSU offices at 101 University Centre to learn how you can get involved. Remember: you are a part of the student movement.

Garry Sran is president of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU).