Former President Praises Student Union Building

OpinionsPrince Ralph Osei — Published November 23, 2010

Students will be voting on increasing the fee to the Student Centre Project from Nov. 23-25. As a civic responsibility, it is imperative that all students vote and have a say as to whether they want to make this a reality now or in the unforeseeable future.

How and when did we come to this?

Four years ago, the student leadership finally realized that among Quebec universities, Concordia is the lone wolf without a Student Center; McGill has the Shatner building to cite one example. Calculations were done and students approved of a $2 per credit building fund.

Over the years, different locations with varied costs were looked at as well. Different student leaders, since that time, travelled around the country and the continent to look at models adopted by similar institutions.
The model that was adopted and approved by student councillors is the current 62 per cent for students in terms of financing and space allocation and the remainder to the university. This agreement is not written in stone, so future student leadership with sound counsel can always ask for modification.

This project became necessary as student groups and services expanded. Space allocation at Concordia is always a headache for the people responsible for groups looking for student-owned space to express themselves.

The system used by most schools is such that student services are placed under the same roof as student groups/associations, cafeterias, student lounges, study rooms, campus media outlets, multi-purpose auditoriums, etc.

It was important that the student union, at that time, involved the university administration to help offset the financial burden from students alone and in the same vein maintain autonomy by bearing a greater cost of the project.

In 2014, the current $2 per credit fee levy will expire. Past estimates put the project at a minimum of $62 million for a scaled down Student Center. At the University of British Columbia, an ongoing student union building project costs $120 million, which students voted for this year.

Student leadership decided to buy an existing building that would perfectly fit the needs of students with potential for future additions as the need arises, right by Concordia’s doorstep. Renovations and modifications would cost approximately $48 million, $14 million less than expected—a significant difference.
The only problem is that time is of the essence. Students have to seize the opportunity of an affordable,
foreseeable student centre. In every generation and in any individual’s life, one is sometimes called upon by opportunities that may never return and the onus is on the person to stand up, grab it and run, making the dreams of many a reality.

Today, students stand at a crossroad: they either pay an additional $0.50 per credit per semester for the next 5 semesters or relinquish the student centre for another 10 years. Some paid the current $2 per credit for a whole four years and left. Some are paying now and may not enjoy the benefits of this student centre, but this year’s freshmen will likely reap the toil of their predecessors. This referendum offers the opportunity for
those that will soon be leaving to pay less and the onus resting on future students.

Finally, it must be said that the question of whether Concordia students need a student centre was decided by our fellow students before some even set foot in Concordia and that this referendum is not about this question.

The questions that current students must be asking are: do we want to finally make this project a reality? Can I as a student part with an extra $0.50? Is it also fair for those that have never contributed but would enjoy the facility to pay more?

If, for any of those questions, your answer is Yes, then I urge you to vote a big Yes and help spread the fame of our university thereby contributing to the quality of the degree you will be leaving with as well as supporting student activism for many years to come.

—Prince Ralph Osei

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