College Withholding Student Dollars from the Union
Report on DSU Special General Meeting

Nicole Burton, News Editor

The Douglas Students’ Union (DSU) held a Special es outside of school. This provides some financial pro-
General Meeting last Thursday, September 22, in order tection for students at a time when they’re facing the
to discuss a number of issues concerning all students at — brunt of a fiscal attack from the BC and federal govern-

Douglas College. While a number of points could not ments, and are coping with everyday difficulties such as
be decided upon due to lack of quorum, a major point _ rising tuition, rising rent costs, and limited access to

of interest was the current crisis stemming from basic health and support services. These last two—basic
Douglas College administration withholding student health and support services—have seen substantial cuts

dues from the DSU.

The DSU is currently negoti-
ating with the College in the dis-
pute, in which administration will
not release students’ money to the
Union due to three years of
delayed financial audit statements.
Audited financial statements were
adopted for the years 2001-2004

in Thursday’s general meeting.

“Before many of us were
here, there had been years of
non-compliance [to the rules of
proper financial auditing], which
we are now dealing with,” said
Ryan Lam, DSU External
Relations Coordinator and
spokesperson. “When I got here,
I didn’t know what was going on
with this. I came here to have a
couple Pub nights and have a
good time.” He went on to say,
“But now we are handling this
and the entire board is taking it
on as a priority issue.”

The DSU is currently operat-
ing on a bare-bones bank account
with a balance of $60,000.
According to our student repre-
sentatives, this will not last long.
Both the College and the DSU
agree that the solution to the
problem includes finding a third
party to look over the financial
audit statements in question.

Lam added that this dispute
should be seen in the context of
the current assault on students’
pocket books, which has sent
tuition doubling across Canada;
Douglas students alone have seen
a 95 percent increase in tuition
fees since 2001. “They're out to
take on the Student Union—and
they want to find where our
weaknesses are,” said Lam.

Under the DSU, each student
at Douglas College is a member
of the Union local and a member
of the Canadian Federation of
Students (CFS), a Canada-wide
student organization. All students
pay membership dues totaling
around $68 each semester, which
guarantees each student benefits
and services like free legal advice,
Fast Trax stickers, and student
discounts on products and servic-

in the last four years, as well as the elimination of many
programs.

For more information on the withholding of stu-
dents’ money by administration, or other Students
Union issues and campaigns, get in touch with a DSU
representative and stop by the DSU office, just below
the students’ lounge.

 

     
   
  
      

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