Students in two faculties are off to the polls today to vote on funding their student societies.
The Faculty of Communication and Design (FCAD)’s referendum results will decide whether to grant the Ryerson Communication and Design Society (RCDS) $60 a year from every student in the faculty. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science (FEAS) will hold a vote to raise fees for the Ryerson Engineering Student Society (RESS).
Both referendums opened Monday morning on Blackboard.
Brian Hui, a fourth-year graphics and communications management student who is on RCDS’s steering committee, said he wants students to inform themselves as much as possible before voting. He asked students to read up as much as they can from the society’s website and ask the group’s members any questions they may have about the levy.
Hui also wants students to check the opposition’s arguments. FCAD Save Your Money, a group against the levy, has a website and has put up some posters on campus. The group also has accounts on Facebook and Twitter.
Tari Ngangura, a second-year journalism student who is part of referendum opposition group FCAD Save Your Money, said RCDS’s levy is “a lazy way to try and get people involved on campus.”
“Think about where you want your money to be going,” she said. “Think about the opportunities you have offered here and compare them to what they’re offering you, and see that there’s very little difference.”
Rose Ghamari, president of RESS, said the society is asking students to increase the levy to $65 from $33.70 to address a gap between available funding for engineering student groups and what they’re requesting.
“Comparatively on a provincial level, Ryerson has one of the lowest student levies,” Ghamari said. “So just to expand that and be more competitive provincially, we want to raise our levies to match what other universities do as well.”
The University of Toronto has the highest levy for engineering students at $283.97 every year from each student.
Voting for both referendums is on my.ryerson.ca and ends Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Ryerson journalism graduate (2014) who loved The Eyeopener more than anything else at the school. Hi Ryersonian!