Dear editor,
I am writing to correct errors and misleading statements in your article and editorial concerning fee-levy groups at Concordia in the Nov. 11 edition of your paper.
In your article, you write “Concordia’s fee levy groups are seeking to form their own student union, which would allow them to get funding without having to go through the CSU.” This is false on both accounts. Fee-levy groups are not forming another student union, and have no interest in doing so. Rather, we are exploring the possibility of collectively advocating and representing fee-levy groups on campus. Furthermore, fee-levy groups have always been financially independent of the CSU (that’s why we’re “fee-levy” groups and not CSU clubs). One of the strengths of fee-levy groups on campus is that we are autonomous student groups representing diverse and popular student initiatives and services, independently of both the CSU and the administration.
Your also wrote an editorial that stated that “of the groups present, several had reason to hide their operations from students” referring to “many [that] do not audit their books ” and aren’t incorporated. However, of the dozen or so groups present, an overwhelming majority indicated that they did have audited statements and only one had yet to be incorporated. All groups had announced previous intentions or current action towards incorporation and audited statements. All the fee-levy groups are accountable and transparent to our student membership in many ways, including annual general assemblies and open and transparent functioning as organizations (including public financial statements).
Fee-levy groups, in their diversity, are a positive contribution to the Concordia community, and collectively we represent initiatives and services utilized daily by Concordia students. As a student, and someone who has volunteered and worked with fee-levy groups on campus, I hope you will correct the record.
Sincerely,
Tasha Zamudio (political science student and QPIRG coordinator)