Addressing inequality in the MSU

By: Jyssika Russell

The SRA meeting on Oct. 19 demonstrated the power of student engagement, democracy, and the ability of the SRA to represent student voices during the year-end celebration motion, also known as #concertgate or #215kparty.

But still, the bigger question remains: how did it get this far?

MSU President Teddy Saull stated that he consulted both the MSU Finance Committee and the Presidents’ Council, a regular meeting with the presidents of the MSU, faculty societies, SOCS and IRC. Both bodies supported the year-end celebration, with the Finance Committee supporting the full $215,000 expenditure.

Yet, after The Silhouette published two articles about the proposal, there was a huge outcry from students, larger than anything I have ever seen since arriving at Mac in 2009. How is it that thousands of students strongly disagreed with a motion that their elected student leaders supported?

The simplest answer I could come up with was the structural inequality of the MSU.

Many of the 1,500 students who signed the online petition cited financial struggles in their disagreement. They felt that their hard-earned money was being spent on something that was frivolous, inaccessible, and unsustainable. As someone living in poverty with over $25,000 in student debt, I can’t help but agree. How did their elected leaders not represent these voices before the motion was brought to the table?

If you are a low-income student, it is harder to be or become one of those voices at the table.

For example, many community- and leadership-building events hosted by the MSU occur in Hamilton over the summer, often on weekends. If you are struggling to fund your education, you’ll most likely be working and at home—potentially at a “student” job, like retail sales or summer camp, which often involves working evenings and weekends. To attend one of these MSU weekends, which includes SRA and PTM trainings, Horizons, and CLAY, you would have to lose funds by taking time off, and spend more money making your way to Hamilton. There are also no advertised bursaries for low income students to attend these events.

While being involved in these events isn’t mandatory, it significantly affects your ability to be involved, to make connections, and to be at those meetings where your voice needs to be heard.

This doesn’t even include other student leadership positions that require large time commitments, like being a Welcome Week rep or planner, or other leadership roles during the school year.

Even those student leadership positions that are paid, such as service managers in the MSU, pay only just above minimum wage, and aren’t near the $14/hr suggested living wage for Hamilton.

Many students can literally not afford to be involved in student leadership.

How can this be solved?

Last year the concept of an Inclusion Council was brought to the SRA, to include historically marginalized voices on campus, including those of low income students. There are many reasons why it didn’t pass, and the concept is being further developed to bring forward again this year. Still, many SRA members questioned its necessity.

I firmly believe that if Mr. Saull had brought the year-end celebration to an Inclusion Council, a council designed to hear the unheard, he would have faced disagreement and dissent. He would have faced the 90 percent of students not involved in the MSU; those whom he ran to represent. He would have heard that bringing forward a motion for such a $215,000 celebration was not only unnecessary, but insulting to students who are struggling day to day to make ends meet.