You literally voted these people into office
With the by-election just around the corner, with it comes this year’s referendum questions. Between a student pub levy, a volunteer crisis response team (VCRT) levy, and stopping the CHUO levy amongst others, the referendum to reduce all University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) fees by 11.37 per cent comes off as one of the more jarring proposals.
First off, the referendum can be despised and loved at face value. A reduction in fees would mean more money saved – not much, but savings nonetheless. University is costly and every dime helps.
Others, like the University of Ottawa NDP (UONDP) are vehemently against the reduction, championing the UOSU Food Bank and Feminist Resource Centre in their mass email to all U of O clubs on Oct 5. – a petitionary call to arms against the proposal.
This reduction is a poetic and judicial way for the student body to tell its union, “I’m taking away your toys until you’ve shown me you’ve earned them” (regarding the fallout after the 2019 SFUO scandal). Not that many of you vote, anyway. Or, this is an opportunity to tell pleading club members “I don’t see where that’s my problem.”
Regardless of people’s reasons behind supporting or fighting the referendum, I have to side with advocating for investing in sustainability through fees WITH THE CAVEAT that students take greater advantage of their current academic position and are more scrutinous of their student union.
It goes without question that UOSU has had some ups and downs recently, but a struggling student union is the lesser of two evils when the alternative is no student union. If you are unhappy with how UOSU has handled affairs over the years, instead of punishing the whole system, VOTE to make a difference.
If you aren’t happy with the current state of affairs, make a difference. You have that power. But this close proximity to that power can only come with continued but scrutinous support of the system that tries to support you (which is more than most), not its downfall.
