On Feb. 1 the King’s Students’ Union passed a referendum question to pose to students about raising fees.
The referendum will take place during KSU Elections, which run on Feb. 12 and 13.
The question reads: “Be it resolved that the King’s Students’ Union membership dues be increased by $9.40 per semester.”
On the night of Jan. 30, The King’s Students’ Union (KSU) held a discussion about the proposed due increase.
The KSU is projecting a deficit of $9,882.40 for the 2013-14 school year, and has already had to cut funding to many events and campaigns to avoid facing financial hardships.
“This is the first time in recent memory where we have had such a major need to increase dues,” says Alex Bryant, financial vice-president of the KSU.
The proposed dues increase of $9.40 each term ($18.80 each year) will cover the deficit and provide the union with more than $12,000 to expand its services.
Dues support the union as a whole and go into their operations budget for things like campus initiatives.
Although the budget has been an issue for a while, Bryant thinks it’s never been discussed because of the taboo nature of the subject.
“It’s just kind of a scary thing to talk about. You don’t want to ask your membership to give you more money,” he says.
However, the roughly 50 people in attendance were generally in agreement on the number proposed by the KSU.
“When you put it in perspective, it’s not much,” says KSU President Anna Dubinski. “We pay more up front to make services throughout the year more affordable.”
At least one person in the room thought the proposed increase sounded too conservative, but based on the general consensus, Bryant feels confident the number is right.
“Based on tonight, we didn’t have much overwhelming opposition [to the $9.40 increase],” he says. “And there were many councilors in the room.”