Hey folks, there is a CSU referendum on the ballot to be voted on starting the 25th and ending the 27th. The context of the question is somewhat confusing so I thought I would share an explanatory text with you all. See below. It is damn long, but the jist of it is: which bank account do you want to be used to fund this expense if/when it is incurred? The CSU operating budget (if you vote no), or the fund dedicated primarily to student space projects (if you vote yes). I can answer any questions! Last year, during the byelections, there was a referendum question that resulted in a strong (+80%) mandate for the CSU to install or help found a student-run cooperative cafe in the location on the Mezzanine, where the Hive Cafe Solidarity Cooperative is currently located. Given that there is a Cooperative there with over 2000 members, we think it is safe to say that the mandate has been fulfilled, however, the process is not yet complete. In addition to the daily work that Jessica Cabana (VP Sustainbility), and Gabriel Velasco (VP Loyola), continue to put into the cooperative, and the support work done by members of CSU management and Benjamin Prunty (President), there are still some parts of the process that need to be closed up -- and likely this will remain to be the case for this year, and possibly longer. We are happy to provide this help because we know that it is important to setup strong foundations for the organization so that it can grow and serve students in the longterm. However, there is one aspect of this process that we think students will be happy to help us finalize, and that has to do with the repayment of the CSUs debt to the Student Space, Accessible Education & Legal Contingency fund (SSAELC). Given the short timeframe that the current executive had to execute this project, it was necessary for us to streamline the financing of this project. Unlike the other location of the Hive Cafe Coop, at Loyola, which we were able to do significant amounts of fundraising for because we had a whole year of preparation prior to the launch, we had to act quickly so that the coop would start at the beginning of the year. Survival rates of cafes and restaurants are already pretty low, so we knew how important it was to launch at a key moment -- during orientation, right at the beginning of the year. So, what we did was prepared a process whereby we could adhere to our bylaws, but also unlock some of the funds that we already had at our disposal -- the SSAELC funds. We could have borrowed money from a financial institution, but we did not think that was very sensible, considering we are sitting on literally millions of dollars that are there for the purpose of improving student space. One of the basic premises that we have been operating under is that the Hive Cafe Coop is in fact an improvement to student space, and we are confident that students agree with us on this fact because of our surveys, and multiple recent referendums. So, we prepared a two pronged solution: 1) Have the CSU borrow the money with a longterm repayment plan, which has been determined to be 5 years, at roughly $20 000 to be repaid per year, plus interest between 2-5%. Under this option, the operating budget will be used to repay the loan, but we do not think this is the ideal solution, and think that students would be better served if they voted for option 2, which is what the referendum question is about. or 2) Ask students through a referendum if the expense can be made from the SSAELC fund, despite the amount not being ratified by the fund committee (the committee that is set up to ensure that all applicable bylaws are followed when expensing from this fund). For option 2, which as we have outlined is our recommended option, it is clearly outlined in the special bylaws (special bylaw I & J) that govern the use of these funds that should the Fund committee not ratify an expense for any reason whatsoever students can ratify the expense themselves through a duly convened referendum. The fund committee did not ratify the expense mostly because it was clear that there was another option, and because from a strictly legal perspecive it was not explicitly clear that the specific start-up expenses outlined in the application were 100% in keeping with the regulations, unless ratified directly by students. Of course, this process preserves the integrity of the institution, and this is why there is a lawyer on the fund committee, but we do not anticipate that students will be quite so legally minded -- we anticipate that Concordians are more adventurous, and entrepreneurially minded. What is important to specifically point out is that the funds have already been approved for the Hive Cafe Coop, and so we are specifically asking students for permission for the CSU to not have to use their operating budget over the next five years to repay this loan to itself so that it can continue to use those funds to operate at its current capacity. Another important detail in this equation is that the total loan represents roughly 1% of the total funds in the SSAELC account, which is partially why we were comfortable using these funds for this purpose. That is not to say that these funds were used without a great deal of consideration, but rather that the proportion of the funds used for this purpose, based on our studies etc., is extremely far below the amount of money that we feel comfortable using to develop student-run food-related space projects. In fact, we are in the process of finalizing one of the Community Matters campaign points which has to do with allowing other student groups to apply to the fund should they wish to develop their own student-run food services, or other projects related to food-systems projects. However, the choice is up to students to make. We hope that you will agree with us, but ultimately it is student money, and so the choice is up to students: we can only make recommendations.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 23:39:03 +0000
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