CSU Forms Online Opt Out Committee

The Ad Hoc Fee Levy Committee Will Look Into Implementation of Online Opt Out

NewsMichelle Malnasi — Published January 26, 2020

During last semester’s by-election, the majority of undergraduate students voted yes on a referendum question proposing the implementation of an online opt out system for fee levy organizations. Online opt out was a main promise of the Cut The Crap slate.

Before an online system would be put in place, the CSU said they would consult each fee levy group. A key element of the plan is the idea that students would be required to be informed on the organization before opting out.

The creation of the committee was first brought up by Arts and Science councillor Leigh Kusaj during the Nov. 27 council meeting. The motion was tabled until the Jan. 8 meeting to give them time to work on the specifics. Council passed the motion and appointed members, including General Coordinator Christopher Kalafatidis as chair, External Coordinator Isaiah Joyner, and councillors Leigh Kusaj, Hershey Blackman, Howard Issley, Peter Zhuang, and Salman Fahim Syed.

According to Kusaj, the committee’s goal is to answer the question of how an online opt out system would look, which hasn’t been discussed yet.

“The purpose of our committee is to ensure that online opt out is implemented responsibly,” said Kalafatidis. According to Kusaj, before opting out of a specific fee you’ll have to get informed on the group through either a video or a description.

Additionally, she acknowledges that transitioning from the current system, where opt out is done in person with each fee levy, to being able to do it online is a big leap. Their goal is to ensure that the process does not significantly affect fee levy groups.

One of the main purposes of the committee is to consult with the different fee levy organizations. Kusaj says each fee levy group will have a one-on-one meeting with committee members to discuss their concerns such as budget impact. They would also help create the new opt out system. The CSU hopes to consult all the fee levy organizations by the end of February.

“The committee will then author and publish a report on their findings in March. The report will be presented and ratified by the Council of Representatives in March and then provided to the administration,” says Kalafatidis. The CSU wants the online opt out system to be implemented through MyConcordia, which the administration would be responsible for carrying out.

A previous version of this article falsely credited Eduardo Malorni as being the union’s External Coordinator. In fact, the coordinator is Isaiah Joyner. The Link regrets this error.