Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 19 February 26, 2018 thevarsity.ca —— University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
Making waves Blues women placed second, men placed third, and Kylie Masse set a new Canadian record at the U SPORTS Championships. U of T won 22 medals in total. page 20
NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY
UTSU to hold referendum on student U-Pass Students will get opportunity to vote on proposed U-Pass fee during UTSU spring elections Aidan Currie Deputy News Editor
The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) passed a motion to hold a referendum for UTSG members to establish a new U-Pass fee of up to $322.50 per session, or approximately $80.60 per month, at a Board of Directors meeting on February 24. UTSU President Mathias Memmel confirmed the fee would be no higher than $80.60 per month, compared to $116.75 per month for a Metropass. Should the referendum succeed, the fee would be established at a TTC board meeting on March 20. The motion approved the referendum question, which requests that the UTSU board be authorized to increase the fee by up to five per cent per year to account
for increases in administrative and transit costs. Students would not be able to opt out of the fee. UTSU Vice-President External Anne Boucher said the union pushed for that option but was unsuccessful in securing the choice. “We’d even suggested a distance-based opt-out, but there was no take,” she told The Varsity. “It was made very clear to us by TTC stakeholders that an opt-out would not be possible if U of T students wanted a U-Pass. “It’s a price some of us will have to warm up to, but given all factors, it’s the best price we could have ever
hoped for.” Faculty of Medicine Director Donald Wang was critical of the motion to hold the referendum. Wang asked how the board could ask students to vote when the UTSU has not yet come to an official agreement with the TTC regarding the exact cost of the U-Pass. Memmel confirmed that there is “no scenario” in which the UTSU would begin collecting fees without having a contract in place with the TTC.
UTGSU’s Race and Ethnicity Caucus condemns racial violence, harassment on campus Group cites incidents of racism, says “health and safety of its members” must be upheld Ilya Bañares Associate News Editor
The University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union Race and Ethnicity Caucus has asked the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3902 to take action against racial violence and harassment on campus. The caucus sent the letter on February 6. CUPE 3902 represents contract academic workers at U of T, including sessional lecturers and teaching assistants. The letter outlined three instances of racism last semester. One of the incidents cited was the case of Michael Marrus, a former
U-PASS, page 3
This week, we’ll be seeking a fee increase from students — our editorial explains why.
Senior Fellow at Massey College who used an anti-Black racial slur against a Black Junior Fellow at the college. Marrus later resigned his post in the wake of the controversy. In the letter, the caucus wrote that “the cases of racial violence at hand, and the lack of appropriate response on behalf of the university, have culminated in an environment of emboldened racism and white supremacy at the U of T. We are thus calling on our local to uphold its responsibility to ensure the health and safety of its members.” Other incidents include posters that popped up on campus in November that read, ‘It’s Okay to Be White.’ They were reportedly UTSGU, page 3
page 11