In a news release from January, former Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Merrilee Fullerton, said the SCI gives students the option to decide where their money goes and how it\u2019s being used.<\/p>\n
Guelph Humber\u2019s optional ancillary fees total $55.95 and could be allocated towards things such as the school\u2019s program engagement, student activity and alumni budgets; however, business student Ferly Pamorca saved \u201ca bit of money here and there,\u201d by opting out of all the optional fees this semester. She said some students opt out of certain fees because \u201c[they] feel it\u2019s unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-29-at-10.18.11-PM-300x97.png\")
Screenshot of Guelph-Humber’s optional tuition fees for Fall 2019 via WebAdvisor, broken down into each category and cost.<\/p><\/div>\n
Pamorca said that the student union has \u201csignificantly enriched,\u201d her time at Guelph-Humber through things like the sleep lounge, various networking events and free menstrual kits provided by the student government<\/a>; however, Pamorca said many students at the school are commuters, and that their limited time on campus affects their involvement with school events and services. \u201cStudents don\u2019t want to pay for things they don\u2019t use,” Pamorca said.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Ercol\u00e9 Perrone, executive director at Ignite, the non-profit student union representing the University of Guelph-Humber and both Humber campuses, said \u201c20 per cent of revenue has been lost,\u201d simply through students opting in or out of all or some of their ancillary fees which fund the organization.<\/p>\n Perrone says the SCI forces them to condense their thinking and focus on what Ignite can realistically accomplish during each semester with the funding they receive.<\/p>\n Ignite\u2019s 2018-2019 operating budget infographic shows that nearly $6.7 million was allocated towards their services expenses, which goes towards the flexible health and dental insurance plan, student bursaries and financial relief. Along with hosting 44 social events across both campuses, Ignite’s website<\/a> also boasts other campaigns such as a pay-what-you-can soup bar<\/a> and other events and contests which are now in jeopardy due to the lack of funding through the optional fees via the SCI. According to their website, Ignite gave out $400,000 in bursaries during the 2018-2019 year alone.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Ignite’s 2018-19 operating budget infographic (Ignite)<\/p><\/div>\n Ally Buso, an Ignite content writer, said that Ignite not only advocates for students but makes sure that they get the most out of their post-secondary experience by encouraging student success and development. She said that Ignite offers more than just academic and financial support. Buso said Ignite helps foster relationships between students from different programs through social events and communal spaces like the games room at Humber Lakeshore. \u201cIt affects students in ways they don\u2019t necessarily realize,\u201d she said.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Canadian Federation of Students Ontario (CFS-O)<\/a>, along with the York Federation of Students (YFS)<\/a>, filed a legal challenge against the Ontario government. According to the CFS-O website, both organizations plan to argue that the provincial government does not have the authority to meddle within student union self-governance.<\/p>\n CFS-O chairperson Felip\u00e8 Nagata said the Ford government made these decisions with a clear \u201cintent and purpose,\u201d to limit essential student services and limit student autonomy. Nagata said he\u2019s heard many complaints from students across the province. He said students are angered by the budget cuts and the uncertain future and existence of their services and student unions.<\/p>\n Nagata said that although students may not notice the daily work of the CFS-O, students across the province and beyond all benefit from their lobbying efforts.<\/p>\n -30-<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Student unions across Ontario are bearing the brunt of budget cuts imposed by the government- and students are feeling the heat and taking a stand. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":8429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[174,47,62],"tags":[207,344,318,66,59,227,412,213,293],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8421"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"budget](\"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-01-at-9.41.51-PM-300x187.png\")