About the Referendum
What’s Happening?
Simon Fraser University (SFU) students face a pivotal choice in the upcoming referendum: whether to endorse the SFSS Issues Policy 10 – Palestinian Liberation. If you’re an undergraduate at SFU, this directly involves you because your fees fund the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS), and opting out isn’t an option.
Why It Matters
IP-10 takes a stand on the Israel-Hamas conflict, focusing on solidarity with Palestinian peoples. While the intention is to make a geopolitical statement, the policy doesn’t promote or solve any immediate needs of SFU students affected by the difficult realities of being a student at SFU.
This referendum is a first for the SFSS, challenging us to consider why foreign policy is being prioritized over urgent student issues like the cost of living, food insecurity, access to affordable textbooks, and securing student housing. It’s time to question whether the SFSS’s priorities align with what’s truly important for the student body.
Why Vote No?
As an SFU Student, the SFSS should prioritize your needs. Rising living costs, food insecurity, and the expenses associated with being a student impact us all. Focusing on a distant geopolitical conflict doesn’t serve the immediate interests of every SFU student.
What’s at Stake?
By Voting No, you are telling the SFSS to focus on:
Combatting Food Insecurity: Food insecurity is a major issue for SFU students, particularly impacting international students and those not living with family. Struggling to afford meals leads many to balance jobs with studies, affecting their academic focus and success. The SFSS Food Bank Program offers a modest $75 per semester to each student in need, funded by an annual budget of about $20,000. However, given current inflation and living costs, $75 is barely enough for a single grocery trip. There’s a clear need for increased support to help students not just survive, but thrive.
Voting No Means: Focusing on urgent needs like fighting food insecurity. It’s a vote for more support, not just talk, making sure every student can eat well and succeed.
Advocating for Affordable Housing: Affordable housing is a pressing challenge for SFU student living in and around campus. Despite the SFSS’s lack of direct control over housing prices, its advocacy to governmental bodies is crucial. The stark reality is that without accessible, safe, and reasonably priced housing, students’ academic engagement and performance suffer dramatically. The ability to attend classes, complete assignments, and excel in exams is compromised, highlighting the need for a robust response. Enhanced SFSS advocacy efforts could significantly influence provincial and federal governments’ action, ensuring student housing affordability is a prioritized concern, thereby supporting students’ educational success and well-being.
Voting No Means: the SFSS can focus on real and pressing needs of the student body, such as the ability to find safe and affordable living spaces in and around campus.
Advocating for Lower Tuition and Reduced Student Material Costs:
The cost of being a student in Canada, particularly for international students, extends beyond tuition fees to encompass significant expenses for books, lab materials, and other essential academic resources. The SFSS is positioned to play a vital role in addressing these financial burdens by exploring and implementing strategies to reduce these costs.
Focusing on Issues Policies, the SFSS overlooks direct-action initiatives like Bound and Copied, a program by the University of Calgary’s Students’ Union that offers a consignment service for used textbooks.
Voting No Means: Shifting the SFSS’s focus towards practical solutions that would directly tackle
the financial and academic challenges SFU students face students.
Want to Learn More? Want to Tell the SFSS to Focus on You?
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