The legal name of the University of Toronto Students’ Union is still the Students’ Administrative Council. This may be curious to students who are used to seeing UTSU on the group’s banners, website, and the front lawn of their office at 12 Hart House Circle. Why is their legal name not in plain view for all to see? Clearly, the idea of a student union appears more potent to them than that of an administrative council. A student union presents the image of a united student body fighting for a common cause. But at U of T, this is hardly the reality.
The Varsity, The Strand, and The Newspaper reported low attendance to the Day of Action on November 5, despite the fact that over 11,000 petition cards to lower tuition were signed, which would suggest that students don’t mind signing a card, but are clearly apathetic towards the event itself. The Annual General Meeting this past November showed a clear division between the college councils and UTSU, with criticisms aimed at the union’s lack of transparency and accountability, and questions about their ability to handle large-scale events for students, such as homecoming. The formation of the St. George Roundtable is further evidence that students and their college councils feel they’re not receiving proper political representation by UTSU.
The union concept presents the false idea that all 41,000 student members think alike. Ideas borrowed from labour unions, such as solidarity and collective organization, fall apart when applied to students. Undergraduate students are not workers. We are not paid a wage by the university, we have not signed a labour contract that must be negotiated every three to four years, and we cannot go on strike to fight for better conditions. Each labour union is based around a specific group of workers (teachers, auto-manufacturers, postal workers) who must stick together when it comes time to negotiate that wage or that contract so they can get fair treatment from their employer.
Whereas a union will protect a specific group of labourers, there is no such thing as a typical U of T student. We all study different subjects and have different outlooks on the world. Also, each of us have different political affiliations and they need to be respected. These different perspectives cannot all be represented under the mandate of a union.
UTSU understands the power of a name. By presenting us with a “students’ union” rather than an administrative council, they can pressure us to support Drop Fees and other related causes since that is what students should do as members of a union. In a way, students are the means for UTSU’s political ends. This cheapens our diversity, and devalues student democracy. UTSU’s political positions are the main point of contention for students, who enjoy their services (discounted Metropasses, the health plan) but resent this style of politics.
A return to a Students’ Administrative Council would re-focus the mandate of our representatives away from an excessively politicized students’ union and towards a politically neutral group providing essential services. Then we would have a student government that serves us rather than one where we serve them.
