By Shanleigh Brosseau, Editor-in-Chief  

Laurentian University says it will only be releasing opt-out numbers to the three student associations– the Students General association (SGA), the AEF (Association des étudiantes et étudiants francophones), and the Graduate Students’ Association.   

The Student Choice Initiative, put into effect this year, allowed students to opt-out of paying fees for services that were mandatory in previous years. Some of these services include the Lambda, CKLU, Pride Laurentian and the Indigenous Student Circle.  

Those numbers have not yet been fully calculated by the university but some student groups say they have been told to prepare for the worst.   

However, even once the university provides the opt-out numbers, SGA president Eric Chappell said he is “hesitating” releasing them publicly.  

 “I don’t want us to perceive the value of a group based on how many people opted in to it,” Chappell said.  

“For example, Pride. Is what Pride stands for and what Pride does worthless to our campus because they could or could not have gotten a good opt-in rate? And is that a narrative, that if they do or don’t do well, that we want to put out there?”   

“That is what I am struggling with,” Chappell said.    

“There are pros and cons [to releasing the numbers], I think it is a decision for Pride to make, for CKLU to make, for Lambda to make,” he said.      

“I’m not sure it is a decision for me to make.”     

Chappell says the SGA is a “mediator” for the affected student groups and says those groups deserve their voice in the conversation.   

In an emailed statement to Lambda, the University said “we work very closely with the student associations on the process for collecting fees and would like to continue this collaboration. [Each association] will wholly own the communication with their membership. We certainly do support those communications when possible.”  

The statement also said the release of opt-in numbers and rates of opt-outs for non-mandatory student fees “would be at the determination of the student associations”   

‘It’s tough for everybody’: Student groups plan for grim outlook    

 Kyle Laframboise, Co-Director of Pride Laurentian, says the student service is looking at a “steep cut” in funding compared to previous years.   

“We haven’t gotten any actual numbers from the University with how much money we will be getting this year,” Laframbroise said. “Besides that, we know we are operating within a much smaller budget and we have been told to plan accordingly.”   

“We do have community partners who are willing to help us out when we need it,” he added. “What we’re looking at is being more cost-effective with our events throughout the year.”   

“Students will still have access to a lot of the same resources from Pride.”   

Laframboise says Pride functions as a safe space for students and offers resources for LGBTQ+ students that are community-based.   

Rob Straughan, General Manager of CKLU says the campus radio station is projected to lose around 90% of its funding.   

“We are trying to figure out how to get through this year financially,” Straughan said.   

“We’ve made some changes on this end.”  

He added that on–air personalities and staff will be volunteer positions moving forward. The station will rely on donations and fundraising to increase funding for broadcasting expenses.   

“We’d like to think that students would deem media important on campus. It’s been traditionally an important part of campus life, freedom of speech and student’s voices,” Straughan said. “We’ve got to not only let every student know we exist, but hopefully let them know the importance of media.”    

 Straughan said that the biggest drawback is the timing of the law passed in January and implemented this fall.  

“It didn’t give anybody a lot of time to figure these things out,” he said.   

“We are just one part of the whole entity, not just Laurentian, but all of Ontario to make due with the cards that we have been dealt.”   

 He added, “we all need to figure out how to keep going, it’s tough for everybody.”   

“The impact is huge”: SGA President talks about support for student groups, and future of SGA  

 “From initial numbers that I’ve seen from other institutions, it looks like [Laurentian] could have larger opt-out rates than some other Institutions in the province,” Chappell said.   

“The impact is huge,” said Chappell. “The impact is less events on campus, no money to print issues of the Lambda, no money to support International students, no money to have the same support for our food bank.”    

Chappell says the SGA has not yet figured out how to financially support student groups affected.  

“We are regularly having conversations in the office from a non-fiscal perspective about how we can help these organizations articulate their value to the campus better and try to improve their rates moving forward.”  

“From a fiscal perspective, we are in a really tough spot with the legislation. If we pull money out of our core operating budget that was mandatory and allocate it to a non-mandatory fee we are going against the legislation at that moment in time.”   

Chappell says some optional fees did better than others – including $10 for sustainability and $45 for the SGA’s premium membership.  

“We have a sustainability fee to support sustainability on campus, which had the highest opt-in rate,” he said. “Which to us is really exciting to see that as it is informative on what students’ priorities are at this time.”   

He says while they have not figured out all the initiatives this funding will be going towards, they do have some plans including a bike repair station and glassware to replace plastic glasses in the pub.  

Chappell says that premium membership gives priority to students who apply for SGA student positions, and acts as a “fast pass” for access to the pub. He adds that the opt-in rate for the Premium Membership fee was “very popular”.   

Chappell said that the opt-in rates for fees shows what students value most about the SGA’s services. “The goal [of the SGA] has been to provide services that students want and it is always repositioning.”     

He added, “I hope the pub isn’t one of the only things that people value most about us.”   

When it comes to larger-scale events like Welcome Week, Frost Week and Homecoming, Chappell says this year events will be “low-cost” and “collaborative.”   

“There will be less money coming out of the SGA’s budget, and more of us coordinating and subsidizing things.”   

“We’ve had to reimagine everything, there is no funding” Chappell said.