10 features

February 15, 2011 - Over the Edge

Several B.C. student unions forgo National Day
of Action involvement for grassroots Where’s The

Funding?! campaign

SAMANTHA THOMPSON

THE CAPILANO COURIER (CAPILANO UNIVERSITY)

VANCOUVER (CUP) — Thousands
of students across Canada rallied
together for lower tuition fees on Feb.
1, but many were left out of the ex-
citement. The majority of students
in British Columbia, including those
at Capilano University, did not have
the opportunity to get involved in the
campaign, because their campuses
were not participating.

National Day of Action is a campaign
put on by the Canadian Federation of
Students that attempts to bring atten-
tion to the lack of funding for post-
secondary education and the ever-

increasing tuition fees. It branches
off of the ongoing national CFS cam-
paign, Education is a Right. However
in B.C., some of the province’s lar-
gest institutions are not members of
the federation and thus did not take
part in the campaign.

The CFS is a national lobby group
boasting over half a million mem-
bers at 80 post-secondary institutions
across Canada, though the federation
has seen a decline in its membership
in B.C. in recent years. In 2011, the
University of Victoria Student Soci-
ety’s (UVSS) members voted to leave
the Federation, and in doing so joined
the University of British Columbia,
Simon Fraser University and the Brit-

ish Columbia Institute of Technology
as some of the largest institutions in
B.C., in terms of population, who are
also not members of the CFS.

Many of the locals remaining in CFS-
BC did hold events for National Day
of Action at campuses across the
province, including Douglas College,
Vancouver Community College, and
North Island Students’ Union. Events
included a banner drop, students writ-
ing their “debt story,” and, in Courte-
nay, students took the opportunity to
use a hammer to smash a van with
“Tuition Fees” written on the side.

“We not only need to educate people
about the importance of post-second-
ary education, but also the importance
of fair access to post-secondary edu-
cation,” Roxanne Dubois, the CFS
national chairperson, told The Lance.
The B.C. NDP also announced that
they would urge the B.C. Liberal gov-
ernment to reinstate needs-based stu-
dent grants.

“Ten years of tuition increases and the
elimination of grants by the Liberals
have made pursuing higher education
increasingly difficult,’ Adrian Dix,
the leader for the B.C. New Demo-
crats, said in a press release. “Restor-
ing grants is key to improving access-
ibility, supporting young people and

building a more prosperous economic
future.”

Although CFS-BC has been a long-
standing force in B.C., institutions
who are not a part of the CFS have
recently come together to create an
alternative campaign related to post-
secondary funding, called Where’s
the Funding?! (WTF?!). The cam-
paign includes the UBC Alma Mater
Society, the UVSS, the Simon Fra-
ser Student Society, the Capilano
Students’ Union (CSU), the Langara
Students’ Union, the University of the
Fraser Valley Student Union Society,

CSU paid $85,172 in membership
fees to the CFS in 2011, they opted to
forgo hosting an event in conjunction
with the National Day of Action.

The WTF?! campaign does not pres-
ently require membership fees, but
any costs associated with on-campus
events and promotional materials are
absorbed by the student association.
Even though some members of the
CSU executive were interested in
running a campaign for the National
Day of Action, nothing came forward
from the CFS working group. Ac-
cording to Grant, there was little to no

dent loans in Canada, and is the only
province in Canada without a student
grants program.

“On Valentine’s Day, representatives
will be going to Victoria to present
... but it’s
important to note it’s not a rally —

the cards to Legislature

[more of a] presentation of the cards
from students,” says Grant.

The WTF?! and Education is a Right
campaigns are not presently working
together, but they are both advocat-
ing for similar changes to the post-
secondary education system.

“T feel like the CFS kind of wants

and Northern Undergraduate Student
Society. With these seven members,
the campaign boasts representation
of over 121,000 students, making it
the largest student-organized post-
secondary campaign in B.C.

Teresa Grant, the CSU representa-
tive for the WTF?! Campaign, says
that the initiative is very cooperative.
“Everyone is really respectful of each
other, and I think what we’re asking
is very realistic,” says Grant. ““We’re
trying to work with the government,
not critiquing and working against
[them].”

The CSU is the only present member
of the WTF?! campaign that is also
a member of the CFS. Although the

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interest from the executive in running
a campaign for the Day of Action. In-
stead, the CSU will be participating in
a WTF?! event on Feb. 14, which will
be held on the lawns of the provincial
legislature.

“The goals of Where’s the Funding?!
were more feasible and aligned with
what the CSU felt would be effect-
ive,” said Grant.

They will be calling on the govern-
ment to establish a grants program
and to lower or eliminate interest rates
on student loans, as well as delivering
“valentines” from students concerned
about the funding available for post-
secondary education. B.C. currently
charges the highest interest on stu-

to do it their own way,” said Grant.
“They’re not willing to budge, to be
flexible.”

Speaking about the goal of the Na-
tional Day of Action, Dubois told The
Lance, “The main goal is to fight for
an acceptable, well-funded system of
post-secondary education in Canada.”
Both parties are separately fighting
for a better post-secondary system,
but until the goal is achieved, together
students are left with no choice but to
cope with high tuition fees.

As of press time, the CFS-BC had not
responded to a request for an inter-
view.