News

Nikalas Kryzanowski, News Editor and Lisa Bellano, Associate News Editor

news@theotherpress.ca associate@theotherpress.ca

 

 

You Can Opt-Out of the Activity & Intramural Fee
You Just Might Have to Break a Sweat to get it Back

Nikalas

Kryzanowski
news editor

 

i you’ ve noticed that your student fees are higher
this semester, they are. But you can opt out of one of
those fees, even if it seems a bit tricky.

The Activity & Intramural Fee of $30 per
student passed last November in order to update a
thirteen-year-old agreement that had the Activity Fee
set at $5. The motion was presented and approved
by the DSU with an opt-out clause, which means
students who chose to opt out will not have access to

recreational activities, and will not have to pay the fee.

For students who do not opt out, their access would
be via smart card. The plan was compared to the
Health & Dental Plan that currently runs through the
student union. The big difference, however, is that the
procedure for opting out of the Health & Dental Plan
is provided on the Douglas College website, while
opt-out instructions for the Activity & Intramural fee
are nowhere to be found.

' part in the activities that they cover.

According to Blaine Jensen of the DSU, the
process for opting out of the Athletics & Intramurals
Fee is purposefully a bit more involved and requires
students to make their way to the Athletic Department
itself to inquire about the process. A representative
from Douglas College’s Centre for Sport, Recreation
and Wellness said students opting out would be put
on a list and that refunds would then be provided at a
future date.

Regardless of the unusual steps, Jensen stands
firmly behind the fees and encourages students to take

“This is uncommon for us, but this fee supports so
many things that we want people to understand exactly
what it is they’re opting out of,” he said.

According to the motion passed, the students
would get access to the fitness centre, and it would
also cover the cost of weekend events; as well, there
are currently negotiations with community swimming
pools for a partnership through these fees.

Jensen states that the activities bring students
together and by opting out of the fee students would,
in effect be “opting out of building school spirit.”

Like the Health & Dental Plan, students have
only until the end of September to head over to the
Athletics Department and opt-out, or the deadline will
have passed.

 

 

DSU Fixture Alysia MacGrotty Resigns

By Nikalas Kryzanowski, News Editor

 

her parting advice to the DSU is to restore the

Le dawn of a new semester meant
the end of an era in student politics

as long-serving DSU representative
Alysia MacGrotty handed in her letter
of resignation last Wednesday.

The popular student politician
has been a fixture in Douglas political
scene for the past three years. She
claims that her decision to resign was
a difficult one, but that she enjoyed
her time here and saw a lot of positive
things happen.

“There was real hope for the DSU
during the summer, but I felt like the
elected reps weren’t there for the same
reasons I was,” she said. “I’m really

and soul into the Students Union and
I felt like I wasn’t getting the respect
back.”

It should be noted that MacGrotty
was re-elected to her seat in the union
in March amid a hotly contested
election that saw a fractioned union
split into two slates, Douglas Students
United and Revitalize. MacGrotty was
one of the only members from the
United slate elected to a position.

MacGrotty still holds a position
on the Douglas College Board and

into advocacy and was putting my heart

“antithetical” relationship that she perceives would
make relations between both organizations healthier.

According to her letter of resignation, she will
be attending SFU in September and intends to use
her skills to involve herself in SFU student politics.

“Upon self-reflection and advice from my family
and close friends, I have come to the conclusion that
I must apply my valuable skills at a higher level by
addressing challenges facing students beyond the
scope of Douglas College,” she wrote.

A by-election is expected to be held early in the
new semester to fill the Internal Relations position
left vacant by MacGrotty and the Aboriginal Liaison
which did not have any candidates in the last
election.