Victoria College is currently considering the adoption of a mandatory Commuter Experience Package. The program would charge commuter students a mandatory $120 fee, which would supply seven meals at Burwash and an eight per cent discount at the college cafe, Wymilwood. The program would also fund the commuter lounge, commuter dons, and academic programming in the Dean’s office. Residence student fees would stay the same.

The program is designed to alleviate the financial issues of the dining hall, revise the structure of the college’s food services, and make Burwash Hall a communal space for residence and commuter students alike.

Roughly 50 per cent of the fee charged to commuters would be directed towards services for commuters, while the rest would go towards the meals offered by the package. However, according to VUSAC President Akash Goel, there is yet to be a detailed, fixed-cost breakdown.

“We have been given various vague numbers,” said Goel. “The question is, commuters don’t see it that they’ll be using the meals, but they are definitely interested in the other services. So why could we not remove the meals, so we could significantly reduce the fee? It isn’t very clear.”

A six-person parity committee has been formed to discuss the commuter package and ensure that students are consulted in the process. It is comprised of faculty member David Crook; the Dean of Students Kelley Castle; the bursar Ray de Souza; and student representatives Julia Culpeper, Leo Josephy (both from the Board of Regents), and Akash Goel. Decisions in the committee will be made by the chair, lawyer John Fields.

“VUSAC doesn’t have a stance in the actual decision,” claims Goel. “As student representatives in the committee, our decisions will be based on our consultation of students.

“Students would like to see an actual breakdown of the costs: certain aspects of the package are positive, but students might need to be consulted on other certain things.”

At a caucus meeting on February 17, some students expressed discontent at the lack of consultation with commuters, considering their role in financing the package. A town hall meeting was held on March 9 to address these concerns about transparency, and counted with the presence of Castle, Goel, and VUSAC commuter commissioner Rob Rubbini, who were available to answer questions from concerned students.

“Forcing students to pay [money] that they don’t want to pay is not the right way to encourage involvement,” said commuter student Ruta Rudminaite. “I hang around Vic a lot, and my inability to go to Burwash has never prevented me from getting involved.”

Saman Rejali, a residence student and president of the Victoria Political Science Association, accused the dean’s office of ignoring consultation with commuter students in implementing the proposal. “Most don’t come around Vic […] because most of their classes are on the other side of campus. They commute not because they like the pain of commuting, but because they can’t afford residence. They wouldn’t want to pay more to the college; they want to come to class, do their work, and go home.”