Simon Fraser votes to leave CFS

In a non-binding referendum, students at Simon Fraser University have voted to pull their student union out of the Canadian Federation of Students, a nationwide group of college and university student unions. CFS represents over a half million students at 80 schools across the country, and lobbies governments on issues related to tuition fees and financial assistance.

In the run-up to the referendum, anti-CFS campaigners argued SFU should withdraw because, since it was established in 1981, the federation has failed to reduce tuition fees, and seven directors in the SFSS, who those against CFS membership allege were CFS-backed, were impeached earlier this year for financial misconduct.

As part of the referendum, students resolved that the $435,000 in yearly membership dues paid to CFS should instead be used for “improving student services such as departmental student unions, club infrastructure, online student services, [and] affordable student housing.”

-Ben Spurr

Texas hold-up: York U poker players robbed at gunpoint

A gunpoint robbery in the cafeteria at York University’s Stong College has prompted the administration to ban poker playing, effective immediately. Four students were playing poker on March 15 when two men approached them with a handgun, taking their money, cell phones, and wallets.

“The kind of gambling that can attract unwanted elements can compromise security,” said Cynthia Summers, the director of York’s Student Conduct and Dispute Resolution Office. Summers noted that the gambling was not illegal, and explained that provisions regarding gambling will be considered for inclusion in next year’s student code.

-Amy Smithers

Admin praises, CFS condemns Ontario budget
University president David Naylor says that the Ontario government’s latest budget, released Thursday, proves it is committed to providing students with vital research grants and accessible, high-quality education.

“This budget shows that the government is continuing its commitment to those goals,” he said, “in the spirit of the [plan] it announced in the 2005 budget.” The Canadian Federation of Students, on the other hand, lamented that the new budget will do nothing to reduce tuition fees.

“McGuinty has tried to define himself as the ‘Education Premier’ but all voters have seen is a trail of broken promises,” said Jesse Greener of CFS-Ontario.

“High tuition fees and the prospect of larger debt loads remain this budget’s forecast for Ontario’s students and their families.”

-Ben spurr

Blood services contemplates change to discriminatory policy

Canadian Blood Services may be on the way to changing its donation policy, thanks to a motion by the McGill University Student Society. Since the early 1980s, all men who have had sex with another man since 1977 have been prohibited from making blood donations. The student society believes this policy is based on a stereotype regarding sexual orientation, instead of concerns about unsafe sex and the spread of disease. CBS requires that all blood be screened, regardless of the donor. The motion to change the policy was initiated at the November Canadian Federation of Students General Meeting. CBS has since invited the CFS to a formal discussion of the policy, scheduled for next month.

  • Amy Smithers