The Alliance of Defiance Student response to DSU and College Board Conflict Nicole Burton, News Editor A number of brightly coloured posters hit the hallways last week calling for grassroots student action in sup- port of their elected representatives in the Douglas Students Union (DSU) in their attempts to free stu- dent-provided funds from the Douglas College Board, the administrative body that is currently responsible for withholding students’ dues from the Union. As previously reported in the Other Press, the con- flict began several months ago when the College Board gave notice to the DSU that they would with- hold all students’ dues collected. The announcement was made in response to the news that the DSU had not presented completed audited financial statements to the student body for the fiscal years of 2002, 2003, and 2004. The College maintains that they will not release students’ fees until the DSU has its audits completed by an independent third party, and presented to the student body. It was previously reported that the audits had been completed and accepted by students in a recent Special General Meeting of the Union— however, the documents presented were “draft docu- ments,” and so were not legally valid as completed financial statements. Producing audited financial statements to the stu- dent body is a responsibility for all students unions under the College and Institute Act. Statements are generally presented on an annual basis through general meetings of the society. According to Diana Miles, chair of the Douglas College Board, in a recent letter to all Douglas stu- dents, “In each of the last three years, the Douglas Students’ Union has sent a letter to the College Board stating that the DSU has complied with the Act by making audited financial statements available for examination by students. This was not true.” “When the College Board became aware of this issue, as permitted under the Act, they instructed the Collge Administration to halt the transfer of student fees to the DSU and will continue to do so until the problem is resolved. The college has been meeting with the DSU executive since May and has offered support, resources, and expertise to assist the DSU in meeting its obligations,” wrote Miles. The college technically does not have the authority to determine where students’ Union dues will go; however, the College Board has said that this is only under the condition that the Students’ Union remains in compliance with the College and Institute Act. The college is therefore not in violation of the law. But this is about the response of Douglas students to the entire situation—tright? Aside from some indi- vidual letters to our editor and commentary from stu- dents at Douglas, the Alliance of Defiance is the first action taken by an autonomous group, independently in support of the DSU in this conflict. Through posters and a manifesto sent anonymously to the Other Press, the Alliance of Defiance (AOD) is self- described as a coalition of Douglas students who “are concerned that the college will step beyond the bounds of acting as a vehicle to collect dues.” In addition, the manifesto asserts that, “...when the Douglas Students’ Union complies and provides a complete audit to its membership and administration, the dues collected for both summer and fall semesters should be remitted with interest to the Douglas Students Union.” Blaine Jensen, VP of Educational Services at Douglas College can agree with this goal of the AOD. “Our working with the DSU is respectful and we are working towards solving the issues at hand.” However, in response to the Alliance of Defiance’s campaign thus far, Jensen went on to say that he is not interested in derailing the current process of negotiat- ing with the DSU “because of a poster put out by an unknown person or group.” A representative from the DSU was unavailable for comment on the Alliance for Defiance campaign by press time. Representatives from both the Douglas Students’ Union and the College Board are welcoming students to contact them or stop by their respective offices to get more information about this issue. Editor's Note: If the Alliance of Defiance wishes to become “not-so-anonymous,” please contact either News Editor, Nicole Burton, or Managing Editor, Colin Miley to set up an inter- view on the matter. The same invitation is hereby extended to any member of the Douglas College Board. The Alliance of Defiance: Editor’s Note: The following was anonymously emailed to the Other Press last week. It has not been edited in any way. The Other Press neither supports nor rebukes the claims made in the following document, but we will say this: It would be a whole lot easier to take you seriously if you put your actual name on your “Manifesto.” The Alliance of Defiance Manifesto: The Alliance of defiance is a non-partisan coalition of students joining together to take grassroots action against the Douglas college administration. Support the DSU Join the AOD In the event that student union dues are not remitted. We as a group are con- cerned that the college will step beyond the bounds of acting as a vehicle to collect dues. We believe that when the Douglas Students Union complies and provides a complete audit to its membership and administration, the dues col- lected for both summer and fall semesters should be remitted with interest to the Douglas Students Union. We understand that the College administration is attempting to do what is best for the student body. We feel that it is our responsibility to monitor our union and deal with our elected officials in a democratic manner. The Douglas Students Union is autonomous organization separate from the Douglas College Administration and should remain so.