By Lori Fazari
Ryerson students may be squeezed for another $4 in membership fees for the Canadian Federation of Students, to keep up with other schools’ rates.
York students are voting in a referendum next week on whether to increase their support to CFS.
RyeSAC president Angelo DeLuca said if York students vote yes, Ryerson may be the next to call a referendum to increase membership fees.
“That’s a possibility, sure. But we haven’t made any plans,” DeLuca said.
Ryerson students each pay $7 now to CFS, which among other things lobbies against tuition fee increases.
Most other Ontario universities pay a higher rate.
“Our tuition has been going up and up every year and I think $4 is very little compared to the tuition fees increases,” he said. “We should be paying what everyone else is paying.”
Wayne Porier, CFS-Ontario chairman, said most university students pay $11, and schools where students still pay a lower rate have been asked to hold a referendum to increase fees.
Gord Tanner, RyeSAC VP education, went to York with DeLuca to campaign for the increase. He also wrote a letter on behalf of RyeSAC to York students encouraging them to vote in favour of “increasing” their “commitment” to CFS.
“In the future, the fair thing for Ryerson to do is run a similar referendum,” Tanner said.
Ryerson held a CFS referendum in February 1995, asking students to approve a membership fee increase.
Ryerson students voted overwhelmingly against the increase by a vote of 1,093 to 300.
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