On Jan. 25, The Silhouette sat down with Ontario New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath to discuss the Ford government’s recently announced changes to Ontario’s tuition framework, financial aid system and student fees.
On Jan. 17, the Ford government announced a 10 per cent reduction in the up front cost of tuition in Ontario. This came alongside a plan to tighten the eligibility requirements for the Ontario student assistance program, reduce grant money offered by OSAP and eliminate the six month grace period before loans must be paid back.
Additionally, the ministry announced that post secondary institutions will be required to allow students to opt out of paying non-tuition fees deemed “non-essential.”
According to Horwath, the 10 per cent tuition cost reduction will end up harming students.
“This decision that the government's made is deceitful first and foremost because the 10 per cent sticker price announcement really means nothing for affordability for students,” she stated.
Horwath said the proposed changes would cause students to graduate with more debt and pay higher interest fees.
The McMaster Students Union has expressed similar concerns.
“Grants are a far more effective form of student financial aid than loans. Rolling back OSAP eligibility and increasing the loan threshold will increase the debt load on many students,” said Ikram Farah, MSU president.
According to Horwath, the requirement of an opt-out for non-essential student union fees is a strategy to silence the voices of students.
“I think a lot of what the government is trying to do is weaken the student movement to silence the voices of young people,” she said.
The MSU released a statement saying that this provision might impact the advocacy abilities of student unions and provision of services and supports.
“The potential of optional fee structures for services could severely undermine the ability of students to organize and maintain robust student-oriented provisions, along with their representation to all levels of government,” stated the release.
According to Horwath, the proposed changes to tuition, fees and OSAP will impact more than just students because all Ontarians benefit from well-functioning post secondary institutions.
“It is going to affect everyone,” she stated. “It is going to affect families. It is going to affect the economy. It is going to affect the educators.”
She explained that weakening the student experience on campus, lowering the quality of education and burdening students with more financial distress mean that young people will not get the education that they need in order to participate in the workforce.
The Progressive Conservative party holds a 60 per cent majority, meaning that they have enough seats to pass legislation without the assent of other parties.
Despite this, Horwath believes it is still possible to advocate for change.
She noted that as a result of public outcry, the Ford government recently backtracked on a proposal open up the Greenbelt to developers.
According to Horwath, this demonstrates that broad resistance from Ontarians is key.
“I think this is a glimmer of hope to say that notwithstanding that it is a majority government, if you have a broad enough resistance and if you push hard enough […] then you have an opportunity to engage.”
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By: Daanish Kachalia
Warren Buffet is the third richest person in the world, yet he never spends more than $3.17 on breakfast, drives a $35,000 car and lives in a house priced lower than the average Toronto home.
With debt at an all-time high within millennials, many students need to manage their money more effectively. According to a Northwestern Mutual 2018 Planning and Progress study, millennials hold an average debt of $36,000. According to the same study, paying debt off is not listed as a top priority for millennials. When it comes to managing your money as a student, saving it is essential.
One may question, why can’t debts be paid off later? The simple answer to that is to secure an earlier financially-stable future. The most obvious factor to consider is interest rates, as they can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over time and can be detrimental to a debt-free future.
There would undoubtedly be times when you cannot refrain from spending, like eating out with friends, partying or buying school supplies, but there are ways where your savings can be optimized by some simple tips that you can apply starting today. These tips, which are by no means exhaustive, are created by a student, with students in mind!
If you are living away from home, buying groceries or personal hygiene items can be quite expensive. It is important to note items that are on sale and to buy them in large quantities, especially if it is a necessity. For example, if toilet paper is on sale for $1.50 off, buying the supply for the rest of the school year will result in an immediate return on your money.
Making your money sit in a chequing account is possibly the worst action one can take as it is essentially not growing. Instead, your Registered Education Savings Plans, grants and savings should be placed in a high-interest savings account. By doing this, your money will accumulate over time via interest and you will make riskless return that you would not make otherwise.
Partying is one of those activities where you don’t mind spending money after a stressful week. Although there are certain costs you cannot avoid, there are also many where you can immediately save. Taking the bus being one of them. Why take an Uber or taxi when you can get around the city for free or significantly less? Of course, it would not be as comfortable or efficient, but as students just trying to get by, this method is substantial for a healthy bank account.
This tip may be the most obvious of the bunch, yet many students somehow spend hundreds of dollars throughout the school year on food which is very much an avoidable expense. The best solution would be to meal prep. If you know that you will have a busy schedule in the coming weeks, you should prepare your food ahead of time so you have it available when needed.
Sometimes, many of us unconsciously spend without even realizing it. Knowing where your money goes and taking corrective action can potentially result in a surplus of money by the end of the school year. Today, almost every retail bank offers free analytics on your spending through online and mobile apps. These analytics offer insights such as the months you spend the most on, categories you spend on and spending behaviours. With tracking your expenses, you can possibly realize your unnecessary costs and take the corrective action to reduce spending.
There is no doubt that saving your money effectively can result in less debts and a more financially stable future. When it comes to managing your money as a student, saving it is the key ingredient. Warren Buffet should serve a role model for us all, as he has a net worth of $84 billion USD yet lives a more conservative lifestyle than most of us do as students.
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Mac’s Money Centre wants to encourage and support your quest to become money savvy and successful. We know that you all have dreams and money is one of the fundamental tools that can help you make those dreams a reality. We know that is message is old and boring, but the truth is that designing a budget is the key to making your wants a reality. The “B-word” has really gotten a bad rap! So let’s try and make it less averse. If we call it a spending plan and talk about spending with a purpose perhaps I can entice some of you to keep reading further.
The whole idea of tackling your finances seems overwhelming, an exercise in determining priorities and donning a straitjacket that will keep you from doing what you want. But that couldn’t be further from the truth! A budget doesn’t limit your freedom; it gives you freedom! It’s really all about being aware and intentional with what you do with your money. It ultimately is about deciding what is important to you and following your values. When your spending plan is aligned with what you want, it provides a roadmap to how you will reach your goals – and that’s empowering. You will find ways to meet your commitments and pursue a future that is based on your goals, preferences and needs for flexibility and creativity.
Hey, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that a plan can initially make you feel restricted but you need to see this is a temporary condition. Once you figure out where your money is currently being used, you can then decide if these expenditures are a good use of your resources. Is it a change to your life style? Or a realignment of your priorities? Of course. But once you start to spend on items or experiences that add meaning to your life it’s not so hard to give up some of the other things that you thought you needed.
Most of us let money take control over ourselves but a spending plan allows you to be in control.
A budget will outline the core costs of your living needs: housing, transportation, and communication expenses. But then there are the costs associated with expenditures that are, to some degree, discretionary and determined by your goals and values. Your budget is unique and driven by what you have pre determined to be necessary to make your life fulfilling. You are in charge of what you spend and that gives you flexibility.
Now you might be thinking this isn’t possible for me. But I’m challenging you to give this some thought. Designing a plan takes time and some professional input can be helpful. Come and see us at Mac's Money Centre! It’s way easier than you think and you’ll start on the road to financial freedom.
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By: Takhliq Amir
On Jan. 1 of this year, Ontario’s general minimum wage, in accordance with Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, saw what is considered a somewhat drastic rise from $11.60 an hour to $14 an hour.
As a student who has held various work positions over the past few years, I was nervous due to the predictions that such a minimum wage hike would shrink the economy or cost vulnerable populations, including youth like post-secondary students or recent graduates, our ability to find good jobs.
When the bill went into effect at the start of the year, news of a Tim Hortons in Cobourg cutting its workers’ benefits and other branches asking their employees to pay for uniforms or turn in their tips began to emerge. Such stories, as well as concerns raised by small businesses even before the change occurred, seemed to only propagate the fear that now seemed to be coming true. Although McMaster made changes to its part-time wage grid to reflect the new minimum wage and continued its policy of paying part-time staff 15 cents higher at minimum, my first thought was to question whether McMaster would be hiring fewer students as a result moving forward.
Tied to the Ontario government’s current theme of fairness for all, the ideal vision for the new labour law is to stimulate economic activity by increasing consumer spending — after all, what will individuals do other than spend the extra money they earn? This, in turn, is expected to lead to job creation and offset some of the expected loss in employment, a logic that some are still finding hard to grasp.
It remains a question whether academic institutions moving forward will cut positions, especially independent researchers whose capacity to hire students depends on the funding they have received for their projects.
The tight timeline has led to understandable anger and agitation, even pushing some employers to either implement or consider drastic changes. Some have suggested replacing temporary workers with “higher paid, more productive” employees or, alternatively, introducing automation to reduce the need for human capital where possible. Others have expressed concern in their ability to keep on workers, stating that they don’t want to fire their employees but are unable to keep all of them at a higher minimum wage when their budgets are often limited and their profits modest.
I can see that these fears aren’t irrational. However, this issue remains one largely created by the way that it has been painted in the media even more so than any large-scale impact it has had in such a short time. For instance, variable projections were made about how many jobs would be lost due to this law.
The impact of the new minimum wage is supposed to be negligible at a macroeconomic level, with these numbers equalling the number of fewer jobs that might be created as opposed to the number of jobs lost. A slight technicality, but it does mean a difference.
While the bill seems to have its merits and faults, perhaps a valid argument is made by individuals who believe that it creates greater barriers for those who don’t. This includes the vulnerable populations this bill aims to help, including youth or new immigrants who may already be having a tough time finding work.
While McMaster hasn’t necessarily made any cuts to the number of positions open to students, it remains a question whether academic institutions moving forward will cut positions, especially independent researchers whose capacity to hire students depends on the funding they have received for their projects.
However, it’s too early to label this as a failure. Doesn’t it seem sensible to assume that those who do have work positions may just help grow the economy simply because $14 (and $15 soon) sounds a lot better than $11.60? The main voice of opposition has been the small businesses, but the individual perspectives have largely been silent, most of whom stand to benefit from an increased wage.
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Some Hamiltonians may be receiving a little extra money with the basic income pilot’s first run underway.
The pilot program was introduced in April 2017 and is currently being held in Hamilton, Lindsay and Thunder Bay. Eligible individuals could receive $17,000 a year. Those in couples may receive up to $24,000 a year.
The program is set to last three years so that the government may study its effects before deciding to implement it province-wide. The effects will be studied by a third-party team of researchers, which includes McMaster experts and academics.
Basic income is a form of social security where the government offers a small sum of money to all those eligible once a month in order to ensure families are able to afford basic necessities. If implemented throughout the city, all those eligible will receive a cheque, which the government feels is simpler than the current social assistance programs where individuals must apply.
The program hopes to alleviate major stressors that affect vulnerable workers, improve health and education for those living on low incomes. The program will be measured in terms of improvements in fields such as, but not limited to, food security, housing stability, education and training, employment and healthcare.
The history of basic income is one fraught with successes and failures. When first introduced in the United States in the 1960s, it came under fire from a multitude of groups whose criticisms ranged from lowering workers’ morale to distracting focus away from improving infrastructure. The results of the first pilot program in the United States during the Nixon administration found its results to be inconclusive.
Meanwhile in Canada, the Manitoba National Democratic Party, in conjunction with the incumbent Liberal government, launched a pilot program, which had successes in Winnipeg and Dauphin from 1974 to 1979. Critics still held reservations, though, and the program was abandoned.
One of the main critiques of basic income stems from its shift in focus from austerity measures that would shift wealth within the country. On the other side, other critics argue that basic income would reduce the drive for people to work.
The program hopes to alleviate major stressors that affect vulnerable workers, improve health and education for those living on low incomes.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is largely in favour of the program, arguing it will assuage the burden placed on those living on lower incomes, especially with respect to healthcare.
“Of these social determinants of health, the most influential is income. Income is often referred to as the ‘determinant of the determinants’ because it influences access to other essentials for good health, such as where people can afford to live and how far they can go in school,” argued physicians Ryan Meili and Danielle Martin in an essay for the CCPA’s report on basic income.
In addition, the same report found argued that a basic income would improve the livelihoods of seasonal workers, who largely make up the rural workers in Canada.
“Overall, a basic income promises to help us come to terms with our economy and job market as they actually exist — not as they exist in the imaginations of orthodox and neoliberal economists — seasonal fluctuations and all,” argued Karen Foster, a sociology professor at Trent University, in the same report.
Meanwhile, the Northern Policy Institute argues that the policy, while effective in alleviating some stressors, will not sufficiently pull people out of poverty, which is the main goal of the basic income program.
“Consequently, it makes no sense to eliminate other social programs that have more specific goals, such as healthcare, job training, subsidized daycare and so on. Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan are self-financed and serve very specific purposes in the economy — insuring against short-term job loss, and saving for retirement,” read the report.
As the program rolls out, only time will tell whether or not basic income can solve all the problems that it hopes to.
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By: Emma Mulholland
With the end of the academic year approaching, students are beginning to look for summer jobs and employment opportunities in places ranging from retail to research. The government of Ontario, however, wants to give students the opportunity to become entrepreneurs over the summer, through a program known as Summer Company.
“The goal of Summer Company is to introduce students to the world of entrepreneurship … to [help students] turn a hobby into a business idea … [and] to provide training and mentoring to the students so that they get a greater understanding of the business world,” said Dragica Lebo, Business Development Officer with the Hamilton Small Business Enterprise Centre.
Students apply to the program with a potential business idea and can receive up to $3,000 of funding from the provincial government to support their business. In the application process, students state how much money they initially require to start their business. According to Lebo, “no matter what the business is, all students have the same rules and regulations … the province will only give $1,500 so anything beyond that has to come from the student … if a student needs more … they will need to supply it themselves, or prioritize what they need … they have up to $1,500 [though], so we really try to help them take advantage of the whole $1,500.”
“Most of our students who participate in this program have never taken a business course before. Most of them just have a hobby or an idea … and want to see if it can be a viable company.”
After successfully completing the program, which requires students to attend training sessions, meet with local business mentors and properly keep track of receipts and invoices, students can receive an additional $1,500. Whether or not students decide to continue their business after the program ends is usually dependent on the situation, says Lebo. Many students who participated in the program in Hamilton continue part-time during the school year, and then pick it up again the following summer.
Several McMaster students who went through the program have also continued their businesses, either full time or part time. “The most helpful part was probably the connections that [Summer Company] helped us to establish … they put us in contact with people that could help with the legal aspects [of the business],” remarked Dylan Kiteley, a former participant who used the support of the program to establish a permanent retail location for his company, Oracle Nutrition.
In addition to providing financial support for students, Summer Company also aims to provide students with mentorship and business literacy skills. Summer Company itself sees a wide variety of business plans, but a common theme is that many students applying to the program do not have business backgrounds.
“Most of our students who participate in this program have never taken a business course before. Most of them just have a hobby or an idea … and want to see if it can be a viable company. This program gives them the opportunity to test the waters out,” explained Lebo. Bi-weekly meetings with community business leaders offers students everything from moral support and encouragement, to practical advice on navigating the business field. “[The mentor’s] role is to assist and guide the students from beginning to end of their companies within the program … to encourage the students in the world of business … and to help them through each phase and ensure that the [students] are on the right track,” said Lebo. Several prominent community leaders from a variety of fields, including McMaster professors, have volunteered time during the summer to work as mentors in the program.
Summer Company has been running in Ontario since 2001, and while it is open to students from age 15 to 29, Lebo notes that an interesting demographic shift has been taking place in the past few years. “About five years ago [the program] was very college or university [student] dominated … but in the past few years it’s been very 50/50 [between high school and post-secondary students] … I think that the entrepreneurial bug is embedded in students in a younger age … there are more business classes in high school than before … a lot of [high school] students are showing interest … they see that they can apply what they know, try something different, and see what it’s like operating a business.”
As classes come to an end and the hunt for summer employment begins, with a little help from the Ontario government, some students will be spending the summer hoping to break into the business world.
Photo Credit: Kareem Baassiri/ Photo Contributor
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Students across the province may soon have a little more change in their pockets. On Jan. 11, a letter-writing campaign was launched by the MSU and other schools belonging to the Ontario University Student Alliance with the aim of convincing the Ontario government to fund a five-year tuition freeze.
TimeOut Tuition is the actualization of MSU President Ehima Osazuwa’s much-discussed tuition platform point, an issue whose solution students have been waiting to see come to fruition.
“Tuition and financial aid and affordability has been a priority for the MSU this year, and one of the biggest things we wanted to do was galvanize a lot of student support behind ideas like a tuition freeze for the next tuition framework,” explained Spencer Nestico-Semianiw, VP (Education).
He hopes the letter-writing campaign will help gain much of this support. The letter itself succinctly explains the main concerns OUSA-affiliated schools have with the steady increase in tuition, namely the unsustainable nature of the increase and the serious financial burden tuition and debt place on students. Nestico-Semianiw hopes that students relate to the issues identified in the letter, and welcomes any who wish to write their own personal notes.
Nestico-Semianiw’s goal is to send a package of 1,000 signed letters to Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Ministries of Training Colleges and Universities and Finance. “What we’re urging the government to do is reallocate some money that’s already in the sector, specifically the tuition and education tax credits to fund a fully-funded tuition freeze,” he said. This means that not only will tuition remain stable for the duration of the freeze, but that it will be funded by the government to ensure Ontario and Canada at large remain competitive in the academic world.
“If next year’s teams don’t make this [advocacy] as big of a priority, then it’s going to be very easy for this conversation to be lost in the next framework.”
Nestico-Semianiw was quick to admit the freeze comes at a high price. It would cost the province around $106 million. The MSU and its OUSA colleagues are asking that this be replaced with money from the $340 million the government spends on post-secondary education tax credits. He explained that the issue with these tax credits is that they are not distributed in an equitable manner. Lower income families claim around one fourth the amount that higher income families do because they pay less taxes.
Another issue with the way tax credits are distributed is that none of the money is available to students or their families upfront. “It’s something you only get back after you’ve completed a year or two years or you might not receive the benefit for half a decade,” Nestico-Semianiw said.
If the letter-writing campaign is successful, the Ontario government will freeze tuition rates for five years, following the expiration of the current framework in 2017. Without this constant hike in tuition, a first-year student in the 2017-18 school year would hypothetically save approximately a total of $750 over the course of their four-year undergraduate program during the freeze. Students in a five-year program would save closer to $1,000.
While he anticipates a successful outcome for the campaign, Nestico-Semianiw acknowledges TimeOut Tuition is only the beginning of a surge of advocacy for lower tuition in Ontario. He expressed confidence in the soon-to-be-announced MSU presidential candidates, many of whom are eager to work on this project as well. “If next year’s teams don’t make this [advocacy] as big of a priority, then it’s going to be very easy for this conversation to be lost in the next framework if students aren’t at the forefront of that,” he said.
The MSU hopes to gain support for TimeOut Tuition not just from students, but from politicians, community members and even the university. “It’s definitely student-centered and student-run, but we want to show that these are ideas [others] all get behind,” Nestico-Semianiw explained. As of Jan. 12, the campaign had received just over 400 signed letters, including one from Hamilton Ward 1 councilor Aidan Johnson.
Photo Credit: Jon White/Photo Editor
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After paying a couple grand for course enrollment per year, students have to dole out another hefty sum to purchase courseware. Many classes require textbooks, with midterm and exam questions being drawn from their pages. Reluctant to spend what is often upwards of $100 on a textbook that is likely to be only opened once or twice, students are forced to either forego the textbook marks or pay the cost and walk out of the campus store textbook in hand.
MSU President Ehima Osazuwa has been very vocal about his hope to reduce tuition, and now he turns his attention to the other major absorber of student funds: courseware.
“We tried to see if we can tackle the issue by having more courseware printed at Underground, because right now the majority of courseware is printed by the University and it is significantly more expensive than printing through Underground,” Osazuwa explained.
Printing through Underground, a full service media and design center located in the Student Center, would reduce costs per textbook by around $20 according to Osazuwa.
Ultimately, however, it is at the discretion of professors to decide to make the switch. The biggest challenge lies in incentivizing professors to print through Underground.
“We are trying to tackle the issue as a one-on-one relationship with the professors, especially those who teach big classes and have a lot of students.”
Implementing this philosophy is up to the President of VP Finance Daniel D’Angela as well as Underground employee Justin Barnes, whose goal has long been to increase courseware printing.
“Last year we ended up with $19,000 in sales from courseware, with the first semester making up only $3,000 of that portion,” said Osazuwa. He hopes that the increase will continue in the years to come.
Yet Osazuwa does not want to stop there. “The second thing was to make a Materials/Textbook Committee, because in my opinion the future of textbooks is online.”
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By: John Ruf
When renting, students generally have two options: either pay separate monthly utility bills for water, electricity and gas, or pay their landlord a flat rate every month. Many students living off campus opt for the latter — students pay a set price for monthly utilities and the landlord pockets the excess. How well does this system work?
The first disadvantage is that students have no financial motivation to conserve energy. They act like customers at an all-you-can-eat buffet, consuming as much as possible and giving no thought to waste. People like to joke that students are cheap and eat nothing but Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles, but in regard to our energy consumption we don’t tend to skimp. Students leave lights on, take hour-long showers and crank up the heat. Living like this, students might miss the opportunity to learn about energy conservation while living independently; a lesson that is integral to combatting our unsustainable lifestyles.
Because landlords have the potential to make a profit on student’s utility payments one would expect them to strive for energy efficiency by using LED light bulbs and proper insulation. However, this does not seem to be the case. Student houses often have old and inefficient appliances, insufficient insulation, and incandescent light bulbs. Since student rental property is an investment, most landlords want to minimize their initial capital input.
Unfortunately, the alternative to paying your landlord a monthly flat rate for utilities is not much better. Students who pay the bill themselves might be more likely to turn off lights and keep the furnace on low, but positive action might end there. Without profit as motivation, landlords will be even less likely to invest in an energy efficient home, and because students have relatively short tenancies, they won’t purchase expensive energy efficient products that take many years to become worthwhile.
Most economists agree that sustainable behaviour is achievable through strategically implemented incentives. The question becomes which is more likely to lead to positive change: students’ desires to live cheaply? Or landlords’ desires to maximize profits? So far, neither has worked. As behavioural economist Dan Ariely wrote in his book Predictably Irrational, “money, as it turns out, is very often the most expensive way to motivate people.” Perhaps it is time to turn our attention to other motivational tools to improve student housing and to reduce wasteful energy practices.
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Students who are familiar with the old bus pass sticker will have to adjust to a two-card system for the 2015-16 academic year.
In the past, the bus pass was designated a section of the validation sticker on the front of every student ID card. This year, in order to take advantage of their $138.65 Hamilton Street Railway bus pass fee, students will be required to have a secondary card with the last three digits of their student number.
Students will have a grace period extending until 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 21 where both the old sticker and the new bus pass will be accepted. Afterwards, students will be required to pick up the secondary bus card from one of the campus bookstores in order to freely board any HSR transit.
“Over time, we’ve looked to becoming more efficient around our processes,” said University Registrar Melissa Pool on the change to a second, physical card.
“I think everyone thought that the sticker equates the bus pass, but it was really a part of broader processes that we’ve moved away from.”
Where the validation sticker once served multiple purposes, the HSR bus pass remains the last vestige of a sticker that was originally intended for other reasons. The majority of those services have since gone electronic, and so the university has been looking for alternatives for several years.
According to MSU VP (Finance) Daniel D’Angela, while the new system is not specifically based on any one system, schools like the University of Western Ontario were examined to understand how the distribution and implementation process would work.
John McGowan, Business Manager with the McMaster Students Union, explained that the change was also an indication of future goals between the MSU, HSR, and various other partners.
“Longer term, there’s been discussions with Presto and the HSR […] about having a solution that’s based on the Presto card,” said McGowan. “I think that’s the ideal solution.”
But some of the changes behind implementing the new bus pass remain unclear. For example, the secondary card does not appear to be more secure than the previous sticker method, since the final three digits on the bus card are simply written in Sharpie.
The largest point of contention is the drastic increase in the replacement cost of lost or stolen bus passes. In the past, a replacement would cost students $30. Now an initial replacement fee will cost $100, with each subsequent replacement running students $150.
Nancy Purser, HSR’s Manager of Transit Support Services, explained how the replacement fee emphasizes the value of the card to each student.
“It’s basically a highly reduced transit pass that’s good for 12 months, and it represents over a thousand dollars in transit fares,” she said.
“We should have done this a long time ago; however, the replacement fee represents that this card has a lot of value.”
Yet D’Angela explained that the MSU recognizes that the cost of replacement is uncomfortable for many students, and remains a point of discussion for the future.
“We’re still looking at ways to bring the price down [...] because I think $100 is very, very cost-prohibitive for students, and I don’t think it’s fair for students to have to pay that $100 if they lose something,” said D’Angela. “Steps should be taken to prevent fraud, but I think when it’s not fair to students, that’s when it’s a problem.”
The replacement fee increase in particular has angered several students, and a group identifying themselves as the Student Mobilization Syndicate has initiated an online petition entitled “Stop the Replacement Fee Hike for Bus Passes.”
Kathleen Quinn, a third year Political Science student and one of the organizers of the petition, explained that the replacement fee increase is not a fair cost to expect students to cover.
“Our position is pretty reasonable: we’re asking that the fee be reduced to either last year’s $30, like when you had your sticker with the student card, or something in line with the cost of making and administering the card,” she explained.
As of Wednesday, Sept. 9, the online petition has reached 853 supporters. Although McGowan explained that the HSR is endeavoring to look at each issue for replacement on a case-by-case basis, Quinn stated that she was against any kind of an exemption-based system.
“When you have an exemption system, it’s two-tiered, and that’s not right, because everyone pays the same amount. And I also think it’s an invasion of privacy if these sorts of guidelines make you prove financial need, make you prove these things,” she said.
Those involved have echoed that the current implementation of the bus passes this year is a pilot project. Both McGowan and D’Angela reiterated that the MSU’s goal is to minimize the replacement cost to students, in a fair and equitable manner.
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