SFU BOARD OF GOVERNORS VOTES TO INCREASE TUITION DESPITE STUDENT PROTEST
21 March 2019, 11:45am
SFU Tuition Freeze Now (sfutuitionfreeze@gmail.com)
This morning, Simon Fraser University (SFU) Board of Governors voted to accept SFU’s proposed 2019/2020 budget, including tuition hikes ranging from 2% to 20%. During the meeting, administrators repeatedly pitted students against each other by implying that mental health provision, sexual violence prevention services, international bursaries and scholarships, and efforts toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples were potential targets for cuts if tuition did not increase. Administrators did not mention the possibility of shifting priorities within the budget, including capital projects ($35.3m last year) or top-level administrative salaries (which have increased by over $1m per year since 2004), or reconsidering wasteful spending such as the extensive use of external consultants; this made it clear that the budget decision had already been made, and that consultation with students would not affect this year’s budget. For months prior to today’s meeting, Tuition Freeze Now (TFN) advocated for a non-binding alternative budget incorporating a tuition freeze, but the board and Administration refused.
After the board approved the budget, students proposed two motions, under the Board of Governors rule #6.7, which allows for the tabling of motions related to “emergent matters”. One motion proposed that the University join with TFN and SFU’s student societies to lobby government for increased post-secondary education funding to enable a two-year tuition freeze, and one would make the budget process more available to students and staff. Despite the minimal effort required to meet these demands, board members refused to table either motion, and attempted to continue with the meeting agenda.
At this point, students disrupted the meeting, chanting “SFU: ENGAGE US” and “WE ARE SFU.” After discussing the importance of transparency, the chair adjourned the open session. Board members then left the room, leaving plates and half-eaten food around the table: yet another mess for others to clean up.
We want the administration and the community to know that we stand together against tuition increases, and students refuse to be divided between domestic and international, graduate or undergraduate. Tuition Freeze Now would like to thank the more than 2,000 students who signed our petition, the dozens of students who wrote letters to the Board of Governors, and the representatives of the SFU student societies who endorsed us (the SFSS and GSS). Tuition Freeze Now is connecting to community groups and students on other university campuses, building a province-wide movement to ensure affordable education for all.
