On the Parliament lawn in Victoria on Wednesday, nearly 800 students rallied against increasing student debt —but only eight of them were from UBC.
The protest marked the first time in four years that students from across BC have come together. Organized by the student societies of Camosun College, Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria, they were joined by a dozen other student societies from across BC. Noticeably absent was the Alma Mater Society of UBC, which represents over 46,000 students and is the largest student union in Western Canada.
BC currently has the highest interest on student loans, and the highest accumulated debt per student in the country, averaging $27,000 for a four year degree.
“This is an issue so pivotal to the education system in BC, it’s almost deplorable that the AMS isn’t here. Any organization that represents post-secondary education should have a presence,” said Eli Zabar, media liaison for the Langara Students’ Union.
AMS President Jeremy McElroy said that the AMS wasn’t in a financial position to attend.
“We supported the rally with a motion at Council, but the planning for it happened well in advance and we didn’t have money to sponsor a bus. We encouraged all councillors and undergraduate societies to participate.”
McElroy added that the elections and referendum had been the top priorities for the AMS, but that the AMS is working on future lobby plans.
“The lack of UBC involvement is a real shame,” said Kyle Acierno, External Relations Officer for the Simon Fraser Students Union.
“[The SFSS] is going through everything that the AMS is going through. It’s a real pity that the AMS didn’t come behind this and support it more, for $800 to rent a couple buses.”
When running for VP External in 2010, McElroy stated that “the AMS should be putting far more energy into meeting with officials and people that have influence and less into protest tactics.”
The Social Justice Centre sponsored travel for students, but only eight came. Arielle Friedman, financial co-ordinator for the SJC, was in attendance.
“It was really cool to see all these students from across BC coming out, the message was really positive and there was just a great energy to it. However, the UBC contingent was so small, it made the AMS look pretty bad, especially compared to SFU,” said Friedman.
So Let Them Drink Coffee
Two days into her role as Minister of Advanced Education, Naomi Yamamoto issued and later apologized for a statement made on rising tuition increases as students protested outside the Victoria legislature.
In a press release issued Wednesday morning, she said that tuition increases amounted to less than $90 a year for the average university student, which they could pay for by buying one less coffee each week.
Michelle Mungall, Deputy Opposition Critic for Advanced Education, participated in the rally along with six other NDP MLAs.
“As I was standing in the crowd of hundreds of students, Christy Clark’s government had a response to the student rally. It was something that hearkens back to Marie Antoinette. Instead of telling people that they can just eat cake, this government said that students can just drink one less coffee. As though one less coffee a week is going to solve the crisis we see today in post-secondary education and in students lives,” said Mungall.
On the two percent increase per year, Yamamoto said she will continue to work to limit increases to inflation. “If you look at tuition across Canada, we are still seeing fifty percent less in increases.”
Tuition at UBC
Earlier this month, a referenda question asking whether the AMS should lobby for lower tuition fees passed, with 87 per cent voting in favour.
Despite this, the AMS has not been actively lobbying at a provincial level over the last year, focusing instead on forming a BC student lobby group, which has yet to be created.
“Lobbying should be a huge priority for the AMS, in a way that it clearly isn’t,” said Friedman.
During the student rally, McElroy and VP External Katherine Tyson were hosting the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, a federal lobbying group.
The AMS is voting this week on whether to become full members at a cost of $46,000.
Friedman wished the AMS would focus more on BC and uniting with other local universities.
“Provincial lobbying is the most effective as they give out the most student loans, and they fund our universities. The AMS has done very little provincially.
“It just shows that affordability of post-secondary education is not a priority for them right now, and it has to be.”
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I found out about this just after it had happened. I would have gone with or without a free coach. It would have been nice if there was some/any publicity for it.
Like “Joe C” I didn’t find out about this protest until the day of! If the AMS isn’t going to sponsor students to go (which I do not really expect, though it would be nice) it should at least notify the student body. I would’ve made my own way there as would have many other students! I wish UBC had made more of a stand.
The AMS really dropped the ball on this one….
jeremy said we aren’t in any financial capacity to send students to this protest?
next wednesday, the ams will be voting to join some organization called the canadian alliance of student associations (casa) and it will cost students $51,000. how does he justify that?
UBC was already part of CASA, but the minds that thought equating rising tuition with genocide at the UN thought the membership level should be reduced to CASA-lite.
But that’s apples and oranges. CASA focuses federally (where grants and loans are) but there should be something provincial (where tuition fees are). A BC lobby group is one way of doing that, protests are another. Neither are wrong, but yeah, federally only isn’t going to help.
but spending $51,000 on an organization that does solely does federal lobbying when we spend a fraction of that amount on provincial lobbying doesn’t make sense. that money could be spent in other places.
There is only one, spearheaded by former VPX and now Pres. McElroy, called the Alliance of BC Student Associations (ABCSA). In fact, this lobby group is brand new and hasn’t had the chance to do anything yet. It’s still only 4 universities large and there’s no guaranteeing it won’t cost more than federal lobbying.
http://ubcinsiders.ca/2011/01/race-vp-external-2/
http://uvssuncovered.blogspot.com/2011/03/cfs-alternative-bc-lobby-group.html
Why apologize for saying, “buy one less coffee a week”
I’m confused
a.p.e – students thought it was condescending and trivializing their debt concerns.
Is it, though? I mean, it’s an extra $4 or so that you save, depending on where you buy coffee and how often you purchase it. It’s a Starbucks drink you don’t by. Or a beer that you don’t get. Hardly a sacrifice, and it’s somewhat surprising to me when students who complain about tuition are also those I see regularly at the Pit. To some extent, there’s little credibility that goes to people who argue that they’re poor while spending even $20/week (often more than that) on alcohol.
Your comment is understandable, but to the people who already don’t buy coffee and don’t go out drinking, saying “Buy one less coffee a week” isn’t helpful at all. We’re already limiting our spending because of the cost of school. It was a careless comment that she made, and that’s what made people so mad.
That’s understandable. I guess it’s just that in my experience with students (which isn’t to say that all students are the same), they tend to spend money on thinks like coffee, beer, Blue Chip cookies, etc. So I just didn’t find the statement offensive at all given my experience.
Who exactly has McElroy lobbied? What contacts has he made? What work has he done? Who has he met with to create this “BC lobby group” (that no one has heard of at the places he is supposedly working with)? What proposals has he put on the table? Where is the evidence of the work that he has supposedly done lobbying for UBC students?
“No one. Zilch. Nothing.” Representing student issues at the table of BC politics, UBC is silent. Both in “protest tactics” and one on one lobby meetings.
Give him a break; the referendum passed only a while ago.
$90, eh? let’s start with the AMS tax hike
Apparently at our own Uni there was consulations that no-one attended, and there is a picket against the BoG’s vote tomorrow at 8am, Ponderrosa centre. What have our AMS done to publicise these?