Debating a Student Union Building

CSU VP Fields Questions, Criticism at SUB Information Session

NewsAdam Kovac — Published November 23, 2010

During an impromptu information session about this week’s Student Union Building referendum, Severyns fielded students’ questions and criticism about the $43 million building.

“It’s a growing need. This year, we’ve seen 3,000 [new] students come into Concordia,” he said. “Where are we today? Decade after decade after decade, we’ve seen student space reduced. I’m going to ask you now, how would you address the issue of student space?”

Among the issues raised by students attending the meeting were the cost of the building, the potential imbalance of control over the centre, how many years the fee levy might last, and the amount of space that would be dedicated to retail purposes.

Severyns responded several times by saying that the decision of whether or not to proceed does not lie with him.

“At the end of the day, [students] are the ones choosing,” he said. “There’s a long process, and it’s been respected.”

Some students in attendance objected to the postering campaign initiated by the CSU encouraging students to vote Yes for the fee levy, saying that
they don’t mention the question on the ballot or the fee levy itself.

Another member of the crowd defended the posters by comparing them to the Obama campaign.

“This isn’t the Obama campaign, this is CSU politics,” replied student centre opponent and controversial former CSU Chair Jessica Nudo.

Nudo also raised concerns from Concordia graduate students that they have been locked out of the decision regarding the referendum for the fee levy increase, and been told to “shut up” on Facebook message boards dedicated to the debate.

“A friend of mine that has been commenting on the
forums was told ‘Didn’t you graduate? You don’t really have the right to say anything, since you’ve already graduated,’” said Nudo.

After the gathering had broken up, Severyns told The Link that though most of the questioners were opposed to the student centre, he was glad that the democratic process was alive and well at Concordia.

“I thought it was great. I organized the meeting because I thought that some students have concerns and a lot of questions,” he said. “I thought it worked for people that were campaigning for ‘No,’ and for people who were campaigning for ‘Yes.’

“I’m very happy at the fact that we’ve done an amazing job of informing students,” he continued. “Last year, at the town hall meeting, there was only one person who attended. I thought that was very concerning. Student apathy is our biggest enemy, and we have to address that.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 15, published November 23, 2010.