It’s official: U of T has voted to join the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS).

The referendum passed with a 64 per cent mandate, ending a bitter campaign that often turned ugly. At Trinity College, an effigy of “Yes” supporter and SAC external commissioner Alex Artful-Dodger was burned, while “No” campaigners complained of having approval of their posters delayed by what they saw as a biased referendum committee, which included two paid CFS members.

But the ugliness couldn’t take the shine off the victory for the “Yes” campaign.

“I think it’s a fairly incredible victory,” said Joel Duff, Ontario chair for the CFS. “The student body has spoken out overwhelmingly,” echoed Alex Kerner, a “Yes” supporter and member of the Students’ Administrative Council. Kerner was especially pleased with voter turnout, estimated at 15 per cent. To put that in perspective, the last SAC election only garnered eight per cent.

For the “No” side, defeat was a bitter pill to swallow. Both sides accused each other of dirty tricks during the campaign, with allegations being leveled even after the vote-counting. “I’m disappointed in the result,” said Mike Foderick, a member of the “No” committee. Fellow “No” campaigner Andrew Ash complained they were working on an “uneven playing field,” and Foderick noted that while their campaign was run by three people, the CFS had employees from across the country to help with the “Yes” campaign. “Those opposed to [the CFS] had no paid employees,” said Foderick. Despite that, Duff noted that students can begin picking up their International Student Identity Cards (ISIC cards) at local Travel Cuts locations. Duff also clarified that U of T will begin paying its CFS dues next September.

The final numbers were fairly close on the St. George campus, with 54 per cent of students voting in favour of joining CFS, a result Foderick contributes to the “No” side’s concentration on campaigning downtown. “That’s kind of indicative of some students being more informed than others,” he said. Duff, on the other hand, referred to the St. George result as “an anomaly,” which he attributed to misinformation.