Fee Rant
By John Stocks
Issue date: 11/17/05 Section: Opinions
I don't know if anyone else feels the same way I do, but I find the fact that we, the noble student body of the even nobler Victoria University, are being slapped with an increase in student fees the most ridiculous thing since the sequel to XXX.
In fact, it's more than ridiculous. It's preposterous. It's outlandish. It's plain absurd. It's also convenient that Word has a synonym function. But seriously, it's not that I wouldn't be willing to pay an extra two or three dollars to help out my fellow student, it's that it comes as tuition fees have suddenly decided to thaw. I mean, it's as if I went up to Atlas, the Greek god who's holding up the world, and kindly asked him to hold my coat while I go grab a coffee.
What grinds my gears even more is that SAC and ASSU will be able to claim that, by putting the fees to a vote, we can all go home happy knowing that the whole process was democratic. But the thing about a democracy is: a) there needs to be an opposition, and b) people have to vote.
As to the first point, there were about as many "vote no" signs on campus as there are real hairs on Michael Jackson's chin. Secondly, I have learned that the SAC fee increase, put to vote in the second week of October, passed with a whopping 66% majority of the vote.
Only problem is, less than ten percent of the student population bothered to vote. Do the math. Roughly six percent of the UofT student body voted for these fees - is this what passes for democracy from our student government?
As if that weren't enough, SAC tried to justify the fees by saying that the size of the student body has increased, but the funding hasn't. Logically then, we would need more funds from each student.
But let's think about this for a second. Every student pays student fees which go towards activities, etc. The more students enrolled, the cheaper it is to provide activities per student - the whole buying in bulk principle.
Therefore, the more students, the cheaper it should be to provide activities per student. However, the clever schemers behind the recent fee hikes somehow found otherwise and decided to reach into our pockets to fund the difference. The logic here is mind-boggling.
And for those who argue that it's only a couple of dollars - consider this. Ontario students now pay the second highest tuition in Canada and, for those of us here at Vic, are additionally burdened with a restrictive meal-plan system.
What's more, I just paid $50 for my house fees, and I know people who have paid more. If it's only a couple of bucks, take it out of someone else's pocket, and maybe someone who's actually got the money.
I find the real issue here is the runaway costs of university, and for me these fee hikes are like the straw that broke the camel's back. In fact, for me it's more like the straw came at the camel with a crowbar, beat it to the ground, gave it a couple of good, swift kicks, then spat on it and walked away.
And the thing is, it won't stop until people realize that cramming fees down our throats that are supported by only 6% of UofT is unacceptable. It's just plain ridiculous is what it is.
In fact, it's more than ridiculous. It's preposterous. It's outlandish. It's plain absurd. It's also convenient that Word has a synonym function. But seriously, it's not that I wouldn't be willing to pay an extra two or three dollars to help out my fellow student, it's that it comes as tuition fees have suddenly decided to thaw. I mean, it's as if I went up to Atlas, the Greek god who's holding up the world, and kindly asked him to hold my coat while I go grab a coffee.
What grinds my gears even more is that SAC and ASSU will be able to claim that, by putting the fees to a vote, we can all go home happy knowing that the whole process was democratic. But the thing about a democracy is: a) there needs to be an opposition, and b) people have to vote.
As to the first point, there were about as many "vote no" signs on campus as there are real hairs on Michael Jackson's chin. Secondly, I have learned that the SAC fee increase, put to vote in the second week of October, passed with a whopping 66% majority of the vote.
Only problem is, less than ten percent of the student population bothered to vote. Do the math. Roughly six percent of the UofT student body voted for these fees - is this what passes for democracy from our student government?
As if that weren't enough, SAC tried to justify the fees by saying that the size of the student body has increased, but the funding hasn't. Logically then, we would need more funds from each student.
But let's think about this for a second. Every student pays student fees which go towards activities, etc. The more students enrolled, the cheaper it is to provide activities per student - the whole buying in bulk principle.
Therefore, the more students, the cheaper it should be to provide activities per student. However, the clever schemers behind the recent fee hikes somehow found otherwise and decided to reach into our pockets to fund the difference. The logic here is mind-boggling.
And for those who argue that it's only a couple of dollars - consider this. Ontario students now pay the second highest tuition in Canada and, for those of us here at Vic, are additionally burdened with a restrictive meal-plan system.
What's more, I just paid $50 for my house fees, and I know people who have paid more. If it's only a couple of bucks, take it out of someone else's pocket, and maybe someone who's actually got the money.
I find the real issue here is the runaway costs of university, and for me these fee hikes are like the straw that broke the camel's back. In fact, for me it's more like the straw came at the camel with a crowbar, beat it to the ground, gave it a couple of good, swift kicks, then spat on it and walked away.
And the thing is, it won't stop until people realize that cramming fees down our throats that are supported by only 6% of UofT is unacceptable. It's just plain ridiculous is what it is.
