TIME TO BRING FUN BACK TO U OF O
“Buck-a-beer”, a campaign slogan used by Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives (PC) in the 2018 provincial elections. It didn’t happen of course, because I can’t seem to buy a beer for a buck anywhere. Especially in Ottawa.
The PCs may have failed to bring you a cheap beer, but it’s something the University of Ottawa’s Student Union (UOSU) might be able to do for you. The former student union, Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) used to have a bar on campus that was selling pitchers of beer for $8 before its demise in 2019. It was called 1848, and was where the career corner is currently located.
The University of Ottawa remains one of the only universities in Canada without a campus pub. It’s time to bring fun back to campus and that’s why there is a proposed referendum question for the upcoming UOSU by-election that will charge every student $3 (that students will be able to opt-out of) so that we can get our campus pub back.
The UOSU is in a unique position, it can rent a space on or around campus to provide us with this important service; it can create a safe environment for people who aren’t experienced with alcohol to learn about its effects, while also providing cheap products. It will also serve food and provide a restaurant on campus which the University of Ottawa lacks. The space itself can be used as an event space for student groups and registered student governments to use that is accessible and at a cheap or no cost.
The idea behind a student-run and operated bar is to provide students a place to save money when they inevitably go out to the bar. As the whole point of a student union-run business is that its primary goal is not to make money but to serve students, the prices at this pub will hopefully be cheaper than those at Father and Sons and other locations in Sandy Hill, which seem to be ever increasing.
Your three dollars will go towards the costs that are associated with operating a pub in Ottawa and keeping the costs low. You can always opt-out should you not want your money to go towards a pub of course. You will have the opportunity to vote on this initiative from Oct. 9-13 and the ballot will be in your University of Ottawa inbox during those dates. Let’s bring fun back to the University of Ottawa.
Editors Note: this piece does not reflect the position of the Fulcrum. Redmond brought this referendum question and was employed by the UOSU as deputy clubs and services commissioner before resigning in September.
