Not all fee levies are created equal

Concordia Recreation and Athletics’ failure to secure a fee levy increase displays a disconnect surrounding student democracy

SportsSamuel Kayll — Published November 18, 2025 3 minutes

The current fee levy sits at $2.92 per credit, unchanged since 2009, and represents around 40 per cent of the department's revenue. But as enrolment decreases and course loads drop, RA revenue decreases too.

“As those numbers have also been going down, it's been a challenge,” RA director D’Arcy Ryan said. “Our fee levy compared to similar institutions in Quebec universities is much lower.”

Funds from the fee levy help support student jobs at the athletics complex and the maintenance of intramural sports. It also goes towards gym equipment and activities at the university’s two campus fitness centers.

CSU finance coordinator Ryan Assaker said that students may not have fully understood the RA’s movement. The group faces an additional hurdle to its status as an administration-run organization rather than a CSU-affiliated group, he explained. 

Assaker noted the difference in perception when students see CSU groups on the ballot as opposed to Concordia ones. 

“The CSU fee levies usually come across as something that has the purpose of funding student-run initiatives,” Assaker said. “[...] When they go to the ballot, I think that also is something that contributes to their vote, to their decision making.” 

Concordia women’s hockey head coach Julie Chu lamented a lower voter turnout, but also praised student-athletes and community members for spreading the word. 

“It's hard because participation in voting is low in general,” Chu said. “I think that the more we can get out in our communities and let people know, I think that's the better off that we can be, but it's always a tough part of it.”

Assaker emphasized the importance of grassroots movements to drum up support for an upcoming vote. 

He referred to the Concordia Food Coalition (CFC), which passed its fee levy increase during the same vote, as an example, describing its effective promotion services at The People’s Potato throughout the campaign period. According to Assaker, the fee levy groups that failed in the vote did not have the CFC’s level of student outreach.

“Specifically for administrative-run services, they're not able to reach the students that are going to vote there,” Assaker said. “They need to be very acutely aware that these students need to be talked to.” 

During its campaign, RA tried to launch a student-based outreach program. They created a dedicated fee-levy-increase account on Instagram to appeal to screen-loving students. 

“You constantly see students scrolling on either TikTok or Reels,” RA director Ryan said. “We're hoping we're speaking their language. We're on a platform that they're going to see and recognize.”

But when it comes to student democracy, Assaker acknowledged the high probability of fee levy failures and groups like RA lacking the necessary support.

“We want to encourage them to get a fee levy,” Assaker said, “but we have to be realistic with them.”

Even within the CSU, Assaker believes student outreach could be more effective. He placed partial responsibility on the shoulders of the union regarding efforts to support student democracy around Concordia.

“We have the comms department, we put out reels on our Instagram account and all of that, but it needs improvement across the board in terms of that,” Assaker said.

For Chu, the votes represent missed opportunities for students to strengthen their communities. She urged students to take the time to understand what each fee levy supports. 

“I think the knowledge of some of those additional fees, although the impact on each person is fairly low, I don't think they understand the impact of the resources that they can gain from it,” Chu said.

But for now, RA will have to wait. 

With files from Aylee Ahmadzadeh.

This article originally appeared in Volume 46, Issue 6, published November 18, 2025.