Engineers Without Borders and McMaster Solar Car head to referenda

In two upcoming referenda, students will vote on whether to continue funding Engineers Without Borders and McMaster Solar Car under Bylaw 9

Hasham-Steele News Editor

On January 24, polling will open for the McMaster Student Union presidential election and three referenda. Two of these referenda concern groups on campus that are currently funded by MSU Bylaw 9, which, under Section 3, allows non-MSU, non-university groups to receive student funding.

The two groups that students will vote on are Engineers Without Borders and McMaster Solar Car. Currently, students pay $1.11 each year towards Mc-

The two groups that students will vote on are Engineers Without Borders and McMaster Solar Car. Currently, students pay $1.11 each year towards McMaster Solar Car and $0.41 towards EWB.

Master Solar Car and $0.41 towards EWB.

On Nov. 13, the Student Representative Assembly voted to send EWB to referendum with 20 votes in favour, six votes against and two abstaining votes.

Representatives from EWB have formed a campaign team on the “yes” side of the referendum, headed by Sindhuja Bissoonauth, co-president of EWB.

The funding that EWB receives from students is allocated towards the Junior Fellowship program, which provides one student at McMaster University with a 12-month leadership and service opportunity. According to the platform provided by the EWB campaign team, EWB aims to create social change in Africa by addressing the root causes of poverty and creating change in how Canadians view Africa.

In their platform, EWB outlined the ways in which McMaster benefts from EWB’s Junior Fellowship program. According to EWB, the program creates opportunities for networking between universities and provides students with experience working abroad. The fellowship is also open to students from all faculties and previous fellows often present about their experiences to classes or groups on campus.

“Without the Junior Fellowship, McMaster [EWB] chapter members would be disconnected from development work in the feld and would lack frst-hand knowl- edge about development,” said EWB in their platform.

As of the date of publication, there is no existing campaign team for the “no” side of the referendum.

In the Nov.13 SRA meeting, the SRA also voted to send McMaster Solar Car to referendum, with 15 votes in favour, nine votes against and four abstaining votes.

Representatives from the McMaster Solar Car organization have formed a campaign team on the “yes” side of the referendum. In an email to the Silhouette, McMaster Solar Car argued that the organization unifes students across different faculties and fosters innovation on campus.

“[Solar Car] is a great ambassador for the university, promoting the McMaster name and research globally through competitions and events, and connecting the university with the community,” said McMaster Solar Car in their statement.

As of the date of publication, there is no existing campaign team for the “no” side of the referendum

For more information on why the SRA voted to send EWB and Solar Car to referendum and how the organizations responded, see the Silhouette’s recap of the Nov. 13 SRA meeting.

The campaign period for the referenda began on Jan. 15 and will continue until Jan. 26. Voting will take place from