On January 31, the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) held its first Board of Directors (BOD) meeting of the year. At the meeting, members approved the income statements for November and December 2024 and discussed efforts to address mental health and loneliness on campus. The executives also approved the 2025 Spring Elections timeline and locations.

The union’s incomes

Vice-President (VP) Operations Jena Bah presented the SCSU’s income statements for November and December. In November, the SCSU faced a net loss of about $191,000. Bah explained that this was largely because SCSU executives had to pay a subsidiary fee to the 1265 Bistro — the restaurant run by the SCSU in the basement of the Student Centre — that they are required to pay once a year. 

In December, the statements showed a net income of about $446,000. Bah explained this is standard given that SCSU receives their portion of students’ tuition from the university that month, which is up to $527 for each full-time student and $56.05 for each part-time student. 

During the executive updates, SCSU President Hunain Sindhu gave his report on the Council of Student Services’ (COSS) pre-budget meeting, which he chaired. COSS facilitates student involvement in the university’s decisions to increase non-tuition ancillary fees. 

Ontario’s Compulsory Ancillary Fee Policy Guidelines, last updated in 2020–2021, require “a formal agreement between the institution’s administration and student governing body representatives which set out the means by which students will be involved in decisions to introduce a new or modify an existing compulsory ancillary fee.”

“The Protocol” established between U of T, the Students’ Administrative Council, the Graduate Students’ Union and the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students outlines that fee increases not approved by the majority of student members may be approved by COSS and then the University Affairs Board based on two indexes: Consumer Price Index and the University of Toronto Index (UTI).

UTI is an indexation of a service’s fee which accounts for changes in salary and benefit costs, revenue from other sources, occupancy costs, and changes in enrollment and is calculated separately for each service. According to Sindhu, UTI increased by 3.21 per cent for Student Services, 1.17 per cent for Health and Wellness, and 2.80 per cent for Athletics and Recreation. 

Sindhu said that an increase in the index means an overall increase in the semesterly ancillary fees. 

Loneliness at UTSC

SCSU executives also talked about efforts to address loneliness and improve students’ mental health at UTSC. 

“[Loneliness] is really becoming a prominent issue on our campus. A lot of first-year students feel really isolated… UTSC [was] known to be a thriving community where it’s very easy to make friends and to communicate with one another, but we’re finding that that is changing,” said VP Academics and University Affairs Zanira Manesiya. 

She highlighted the Pathways to Health Professionals fair that took place on January 29 as an effort that allowed students to interact more with each other. Sindhu also mentioned the “We’re Not Really Strangers Experience”: HealthyU Edition, a card game event that took place on January 22 which the SCSU collaborated with The Health & Wellness Centre, the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Office, the Positive Space Committee, and Athletics & Recreation. 

“I feel like some of the events coming up in February will also help to alleviate some of that loneliness,” said Manesiya. 

Currently, the SCSU is preparing for its annual Montréal reading week trip, alongside the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union, where students will have the opportunity to ice skate, visit Quebec City, and go on a driving tour of Montréal.

SCSU 2025 elections

The BOD also approved the Elections & Referendum Committee agenda and meeting minutes from January 28, which approved the timeline and voting locations for the SCSU’s spring elections. 

The nomination period will begin on February 3 and end on February 14 at 4:00 pm. The campaigning period will be from February 25 to March 6 at 6:00 pm, and voting will take place from March 4–6. Voting locations will include the Student Centre, the Bladen Wing, the Instructional Centre Vestibule, and a new location in the Sam Ibrahim building.