If you love the Varsity, vote to increase its levy. Why? Because without a levy increase the Varsity will have to scale back its service. But if you hate the Varsity, vote to increase its levy too. Why? Because the proposed increase will also make the Varsity’s levy refundable, which means you can opt out of paying it if you don’t like the paper. This is what’s called a win/win proposition. But if you still need convincing, let me tell you a little story.
Starting in September, the student newspaper at the University of New Brunswick will be receiving a $10 levy for every student. That will be up from $7. Here at U of T, if all goes well, the Varsity will be receiving $2. That will be up from $1.25. So how can the Varsity afford to publish a newspaper twice weekly throughout the school year for a fifth of what the Brunswickan requires? The short answer is that it can’t. The Varsity’s levy hasn’t increased in 20 years or more. In the meantime, prices have been going up and the value of a dollar has been going down.
The Varsity could afford to let this happen for so long for one reason: dumb luck. I am being quite literal—this newspaper has been both lucky and dumb. The Varsity sits at the centre of a huge and vibrant campus, the largest university campus in Canada. That makes it easier for the Varsity to find folks who want to advertise in its pages. We are lucky.
But at the same time, the Varsity has been dumb. Because it has been quite easy to find advertisers for the past two decades, the Varsity has allowed itself to become dependent upon advertising income. (It represents ninety percent of our operating costs.) That is not good.
Take a look through the paper. Look at the advertisements. Notice anything suspicious? Advertisers aren’t really interested in students, they’re interested in selling things to students. (In some cases, the products they are selling are definitely not in the interest of students). Even worse, when the economy suffers, advertisers are often the first to scale back.
So how does what the Varsity is asking for stack up against other student newspapers across the country? Most receive between $5 and $8; one paper even receives $21. The Varsity definitely doesn’t need that much (though it would be nice), but its levy is definitely the lowest in the country. And there is no question that it is disproportionately low.
The Ubyssey, at the University of British Columbia, for example, receives a $5 refundable levy. They serve an undergraduate population of roughly 30 000 (i.e. their levy is four times as large as the Varsity’s, though they serve only half as many students.) The Peak, at Simon Fraser University, serves 17 000 and gets from $7 to $10 a year… ergh… you probably get the point.
To sum up: the Varsity needs your support. If we don’t get your help, it will be bad bad bad. We are asking to have our levy increased by 75 measly cents. The new $2 dollar levy will be totally refundable.
Voting takes place on ROSI from March 23-26. And please please vote (for the referendum, if for nothing else). We are all tired of seeing decisions made by thousands of students when tens of thousands are eligible to vote.
