Brock groups face uncertain future
The school year is about to start but Brock University student groups won’t know the full impact of the province’s decision to allow students to opt out of certain fees until mid-September or later.
Students are moving into campus residences Sunday, but have until Sept. 17 to opt in or out of fees that have been deemed “noncompulsory.”
Those include charges that support the campus newspaper Brock Press, Brock TV and more than 100 campus clubs.
They also include a green levy, an African student refugee sponsorship program and fees for provincial and federal student advocacy groups.
“We’re certainly aware of the many possible outcomes and how they could affect us,” said Isabelle Cropper, editor-in-chief of the Brock Press, which publishes a physical copy of the paper every Tuesday during the school year and is available online.
“At the end of the day there’s only so much planning we can do. We really have to wait for those final numbers to come in and then go from there.”
The Brock University Students’ Union estimates 25 per cent of students will opt out of the fees, but the number won’t be known until the process is completed.
Cropper said a fair portion of the newspaper’s budget comes from student fees, and the results of the opt-out could have a huge impact on the paper.
For now, the staff of 20 along with contributors and volunteers is trying to focus on what they do have control over.
“With our staff, we’ve just emphasized the importance of focusing on what we’re doing now and making sure each publication we put out has great content Brock students will feel is essential to their experience,” she said.
“Hopefully we won’t have too much opt-out at the end.”
Bilal Khan, president of Brock University Students’ Union, said there is still a lot of uncertainly in terms of the real impact of the province’s student choice initiative.
The student union did its planning and budgeting for the year using the projected 25 per cent opt-out rate.
The seven non-compulsory student fees, plus a business student association levy, are each voted on individually by students. The clubs are included together in one of those fees.
“They are obviously concerned. We have over 100 clubs every year and they do great work, not just at Brock but in the Niagara community and beyond,” Khan said.
“Obviously, some of their work and initiatives and programs that go towards making our campus and our community better will be affected as a result of this. We’re doing whatever we can to help and support them and really help them continue to do all the great work they’ve done in years prior.”
The student union ran a social media campaign earlier in the summer called Keep It Checked, which encouraged students to opt in for some of the fees.
Khan said the campaign talked about how valuable the fees are in creating a more accessible, affordable and enjoyable university experience for students.
He said students are still required to pay compulsory fees for buildings and capital projects, academic support, safety and accessibility, the U-Pass transit program and health and dental insurance plans.