The Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) endorsed college and faculty plans to host referenda that would sever financial ties with the UTSU if approved.

The surprise announcement from the union’s long-time ally came in an open letter condemning the UTSU’s actions during the recently concluded campaign season. The letter finds that it may not be “productive or possible” to keep UTSU unified any longer, and that referenda asking students to approve fee diversion is an “appropriate” response.

The letter was released after UTSU vice-president, internal, Corey Scott appointed Gale Fernando, a resource coordinator with the GSU, to a coveted seat on the Elections and Referenda Appeals Committee (ERAC), the UTSU’s highest elections appeals body.

GSU executive Brad Evoy explained that although UTSU had for several years hand-picked a staff member of the GSU to sit on the committee, this year the GSU decided to pick their own representative.

The UTSU refused to accept the GSU’s representative on the ERAC, and Fernando declined the invitation.

Scott described the whole situation as a “misunderstanding”, adding that “this is the process we’ve been following for years.”

In an interview with The Varsity, Evoy described an organized outreach effort from the UTSU to try and halt defederation efforts that has unfolded behind the scenes in recent weeks.

Evoy says he received several emails trying to coordinate “traditional campus allies” to “speak out against defederation.”

Evoy identified APUS, UTMSU, SCSU as well as “about 10” other campus groups that have been asked to contribute to efforts to halt defederation.

The CRO, Eric Leung has issued 11 rulings, overturning all complaints and issuing no demerit points. The ERAC has not met this year and according to Scott, will not be meeting.

The GSU’s letter comes as preparations are underway for referenda on fee diversion to be held at the end of this month.

The campaign period for Trinity’s referendum on diverting fees from UTSU began last Friday. Referenda at Engineering and Victoria are scheduled for the coming weeks.

As of The Varsity’s press time, no one had registered to run the “no” campaign at Trinity, although the college has delegated $500 dollars for this purpose.

Longtime opposition figures Taylor Scollon and Brett Chang are organizing the “yes” campaign at Trinity.

At the Trinity College Meeting last Monday, a formal invitation was issued to the UTSU to serve on the “no” campaign.

UTSU president Shaun Shepherd has acknowledged receipt of the invitation, but as of press time, has not issued a response.

Shepherd has previously stated he does not recognize the legitimacy of any of the College’s referenda and has “clear legal precedent” to stop them regardless of the outcome. Newly-elected UTSU president Munib Sajjad said he did not recognize the legitimacy of Trinity’s referenda, because it was not open to all UTSU members and was not being held under the official auspices of the union’s referenda procedures.

Sam Greene, co-head of Trinity College issued a public challenge to the UTSU, encouraging them to send someone to campaign to “justify their own existence.”

“If they don’t do this, it’s their own fault — they’ve know this referendum was going to happen for a long time.”