Referendum Questions
Question 1: Fee for Sustainable SFU
Are you in favour of a new fee of $2 per full time student per semester and $1 per part time student per semester to be levied for the benefit of sustainability-related initiatives on campus through Sustainable SFU? (Sustainable SFU past projects include a Sustainability Festival, the SFU Local Food project, and the Sustainable Advisory Committee.) (Yes / No)
Question 2: Exception to Terms of Space Expansion Fund
Whereas the SFSS has a mandate to provide services and support for its members;
Whereas the new SFU Woodward’s campus has no student controlled space;
Whereas the SFSS has an opportunity to acquire student space in W2 at Woodward’s;
Whereas the SFSS space expansion fund is limited to use for SFU-owned property;
Do you support an exception to the terms of the Space Expansion Fund to allow the acquisition and maintenance of Student Society space in the W2 Community Media Arts Society space at the Woodwards development in Vancouver? (Yes / No)
By-Law Change 1: Polling Hours
Whereas By-Law 14.18(b) states that “Polling for all positions shall occur between the hours of 9:30am and 7:30pm”, the introduction of online voting makes it unnecessary to impose such time limits. It is likely that an increased number of voting hours will lead to a higher voter turnout since students can vote on their own time at any place with internet access.
Do you agree to amend by-law 14.18(b) to read “Polling for all positions shall occur at least between the hours of 9:30am and 7:30pm”? (Yes / No)
By-Law Change 2: Ombuds office
Whereas this bylaw is now redundant because the SFSS jointly funds the university Ombuds office with the GSS and SFU;
Do you support the removal of By-Law 19 "Ombuds Office”? (Yes / No)
Referendum Sides
Would YOU like to see a more sustainable SFU? Vote yes!
Who we are:
Sustainable SFU is a non-profit, student-run campus group dedicated to being a vehicle for student-driven sustainable change on campus. Our vision is for a campus community where students, faculty, and administration are engaged in creating a culture of sustainability, where ingenuity, energy, and knowledge are mobilized to improve the environmental, social, and economic impacts of our institution, and where our initiatives contribute to a broader community movement for a more sustainable future.
Sustainability for SFU?
For us, sustainability in our university context means recognizing that everything we do on campus has an impact: we want to take ownership of our actions and ensure that our impact on the broader community and environment is a positive one.
Sustainable SFU’s work:
• Sustainability Advisory Committee – Sustainable SFU prompted the creation of this committee where administration, faculty and students work to make SFU more sustainable!
• SFU Local Food Project – Provides local, fresh, environmentally friendly food to students and supports local farmers! This Sustainable SFU-initiated project has run out of government funding: we want to contribute essential funding to enable its continuance.
• Sustainability Festivals - Celebrate learning about sustainable choices!
Why YOU should vote YES:
We are asking students to engage in taking one step further from ‘Thinking of the World’ to creating the world we want to live in here at SFU. By voting yes, you will help Sustainable SFU increase capacity to create the changes students want to see. We will strengthen our developed projects and more recent initiatives - a campus-wide composting program, a sustainable paper purchasing program, and affordable, accessible campus drinking water (more Water Fills!). Additionally, we will help to fund new, independent student projects and ensure semester-to-semester organisational continuity by hiring a staff member. If the referendum passes, all undergraduates will become members of the non-profit: we encourage you to come elect the board of directors at our annual general meeting.
We as students have the privilege of attending an institution of higher learning – we are not only asking students to vote yes, we are challenging students to put their knowledge, creativity and skills to action and contribute their voices to make SFU more sustainable. Whether or not this referendum passes, we are excited to continue this dialogue to build a more sustainable SFU.
Thank you for your support!