A bid by Hart House for increased funding from a student levy was rejected by the Council on Student Services (COSS), a student-majority body that must approve all such fee increases. In a report explaining the rationale behind the rejection, the UTSU indicated that it was unsatisfied with the current level of involvement and integration students at the Scarborough and Mississauga campuses with Hart House.
UTM and UTSC students, like their counterparts on the St. George campus, must pay $2.32 to Hart House.
Munib Sajjad, UTSU president-elect and a member of the coss, said he believes that Hart House is a “great facility,” but added that he also thinks it is “underused and underrated,” especially by students at the sister campuses of utm and utsc. “There has been no strong effort … to promote its services,” said Sajjad.
“We need to work more on a tri-campus level,” said Sajjad. “I would hate to see opting-out occur,” he added, because it would encourage each campus to develop an identity independent of U of T.
Hart House has already undertaken efforts to increase participation with the Mississauga and Scarborough campuses. According to the COSS report, Hart House has initiated an ambassador program designed to enhance outreach at the three campuses, and has invested in developing social media tools to better engage the U of T community.
Several students studying in Mississauga and Scarborough have claimed they have nothing against paying the small fee if other students can benefit from their contribution.
“There’s a lot you pay for and you can’t take advantage of it all. As long as it’s being used by others, I don’t feel ripped off,” said Trevor Mehr, a second year student at utm.
There are students, like Mehr, who take advantage of facilities on more than one U of T campus. He believes that all students should have the same option.
Daikos, a law student and frequent user of Hart House, said he thinks that the fee should remain mandatory for all students because the exact percentage of funds allocated to particular services from individual campuses is not always clear. He believes it is likely that St. George students are also paying for some facilities on other campuses.
Hart House, a central student center on the St. George campus, obtains funds from mandatory incidental fees of all students enrolled at the University of Toronto. According to the coss report, the Hart House primary source of income depends primarily on purchased memberships and student fees. The university provides no funding to Hart House and students are the largest contributors, providing 54 per cent of costs.
Although there is a shuttle bus running between the Mississauga and St. George campuses, many UTM students claim that they are only familiar with Hart House as a bus stop, and are not aware of services that the student hub has to offer.
UTM students like Lauren and Michelle, who have been to Hart House a couple of times, agree that an opt-out option should be in place; they would much rather see the money go into scholarships or grants instead.
UTM student Sara Moyeen thinks that paying for Hart House is “pointless.”
“We aren’t going to spend 30–40 minutes to get there, people here use our own facilities,” said Moyeen.
Moyeen expressed her concern that part-time students do not have enough support, and would rather see funds routed to the part-time population instead. She also stated that the Mississauga campus should have its own equivalent to a hub like Hart House center, since downtown Toronto is such a great distance away for many students.
Unlike UTM, the Scarborough campus does not provide a shuttle bus to take students downtown, making it more difficult for those enrolled at UTSC to access Hart House facilities.
Sarah, a fourth year at UTSC, was not aware that she was being charged for Hart House’s services. “We already pay so many fees,” she said. “It’s upsetting. I don’t want to pay for something I’m not going to use.”
Sarah said she would rather have UTSU pay attention to its own facilities, which she believes need improvement, such as the bathrooms, hallways, and campus aesthetics.
Although several students have stated that they would prefer an opt-out option, Sajjad added that he hopes students will find the time to get involved and experience what Hart House has to offer because “[Student life is] fundamental to education; we’re not just student numbers.”
