By Michael Deruyter
Course unions no longer make money on alcoholic beverages sold at their events. Some leaders said they weren’t notified prior to their events at the Ram in the Rye, leading to heated debate at a meeting on Nov. 3.
“We felt taken advantage of,” said Matthew Armstrong, Student Law Society (SLS) vice-president financial affairs. “We don’t care about the final amount, or the percentage, it’s the principle of changing things without notifying student groups in time.”
But Eric Newstadt, general manager of the Ryerson Student Centre, said all changes were communicated.
Starting this fall, course unions were able to charge cover at events or earn around 10 per cent of overall sales, including alcohol.
In October, Ryerson Student Centre management learned that giving a portion of liquor sales to course unions contradicted their liquor license. The policy was changed again so course unions could charge cover, or make a higher percentage of non-alcoholic beverage and food sales, up to 50 per cent for more than $1,000 in sales.
The SLS held an event at the Ram in the Rye on Oct. 16 and chose the percentage system because they thought it included alcohol. They earned $205 from a packed bar. A few days later they were told the policy had been changed before the event, said Armstrong.
He added that if they had been informed of the exclusion of alcohol sales, especially with an evening event, they might have charged a cover instead.
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