This week, students will have the opportunity to vote for the continuation of student funding of the McGill chapter of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) and CKUT, the campus radio station. The referendum questions have each demanded a change to the current opt-out system so that students will have to opt out of each fee in person, rather than on Minerva.
The Tribune endorses the funding of both of these groups in opt-outable systems. QPIRG provides funding to several important groups on campus, such as Greening McGill, and in the community, such as the Montreal Media Co-op. Likewise, CKUT is a not-for-profit radio station that is committed to playing content outside of the mainstream and gives McGill students opportunities to participate in broadcast journalism, a program not offered at the university. We encourage all students to vote yes for both questions in the upcoming referendum and support the existence of these organizations. Some members of our editorial board are opposed to funding QPIRG because of its funding of Tadamon!, which is why a practical and accessible opt-out system should be in place.
However, the proposed opt-out systems for each group do not seem as practical or accessible as they could be. Students opt out of fees for several reasons, including financial strain and personal beliefs, and we question whether students will be comfortable opting out in person. We welcome QPIRG and CKUT’s initiatives to have a table in the lobby of the SSMU building for five of the 15 days of the opt-out period. This would enable students to opt out at a more neutral location than each organizations’ office. Nevertheless, we question if this system will be practical either for students who prefer to retain their anonymity or for these organizations, which will need to man these tables for long hours, with the potential of having to deal with confrontation from those who oppose their views.
We also have serious concerns with how these two questions have been posed. QPIRG and CKUT each had to pose a referendum question this year in order to continue to receive funding from students, but by adding in the change to the opt out system they are merging two issues that ought to remain separate. Just like members of this editorial board struggled to reach a decision, many students will struggle to decide between cutting off funding entirely from organizations which largely benefit student life or imposing an impractical opt-out system.
Given that these referenda are not legally binding, even with a strong student mandate there is no guarantee that the McGill administration will act on QPIRG and CKUT’s requests. However, this newspaper has faith that the administration and both student organizations can, through compromise, come to an agreement over an improved opt-out system for the two groups.
