14 June 2002

uwRyan.com
Last issue - 03 Jun
2002 editions

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Our SLiCe

Students should control the SLC

We put a great deal of money into the Student Life Centre.

Students paid for most of the construction of the SLiCe. We now pay for more of its budget and will soon pay even more money for its expansion; but we do not have sufficient control or benefit from this house that students built.

The Campus Centre, which is the old part of the SLiCe, was completed in 1968 with student fees and some funds from the university.

In 1992 students voted to expand the SLiCe as part of the Student Co-ordinated Plan. In this plan students contributed $9 million to build the SLiCe, the north campus recreation complex and start the Student Life Endowment Fund. The university contributed $1 million to ensure space for food services.

Two years later, in 1994, the Feds and UW negotiated the 29-page agreement, which, among other things, established the SLC Management Board and guaranteed Brubaker's' space to Food Services for the same rent that the Feds pay for their offices. The agreement also gives Food Services control of the vending machines.

The agreement requires review at the initiation of the Feds every five years. It was first due to be reviewed in 1999, but was never reviewed.

Student organizations and Brubaker's pay no rent, only maintenance and utility costs. The other university business operations — the Watcard office, Techworx and Pixel Pub — pay around two-thirds of the lowest rent paid by other businesses.

Since 2000 students have funded 50% of the operations of the Turnkey Desk through the Student Service Fee. This is effectively a subsidy of the university's rent, because these lower rents require revenue on the space to be made up from other sources like the Student Services Fee.

Students paid and are paying to construct this building. Rent should cover the operation of the building but does not while the university's businesses get cheap rent and students are forced to subsidize the difference in the Student Services Fee.

The SLiCe is governed by the Student Life Centre Management Board made up of two Feds executives, two UW administrators and one student.

The foremost priority is the review of the SLiCe agreement; the financial burden on students must be balanced with other sources of revenue.

One solution would be to raise the rent of student organizations to support the SLiCe operations. This may be unfavourable because it may hinder the operation of organizations that create value for students. It may also just redistribute the cost for students through price and fee increases.

Another is to review the reasoning for giving university businesses such cheap rent.

The structure and composition of the management board and how it operates need to be considered.

There must be more openness and scrutiny on the Student Services Fee and other student fees to ensure accountability and encourage pursuit of resources other than student money.

Students built the Student Life Centre and students should know what happens in it and students should control it.