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March 14, 2007

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THE UNIVERSITY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND’S STUDENT VOICE

Stacey Murray Advertising Manager

The University of Prince Ed- watd Island is still a member of the Canadian Federation of Students, despite years of trying to sever ties with the group, says a CFS representative.

At the Feb, 11 student union meeting a member questioned why UPE] didn’t take part in the Day of Action, an event planned by the federation to give students a voice about tuition increases.

Student union president Ryan Gallant said UPEI isn’t affiliated with the Canadian Federation of Students, who organized the event, but said they were plan- ning other events concerning rising tuition.

“There’s always stuff we're working on.”

Ian Boyko, the campaign coordinator from CFS, said this wasn’t the case as UPEI is a member, even though they’te not recognizing their member- ship at this time.

“They made a decision at the council level they weren’t going to respect their membership.”

This however doesn’t mean they are no longer members, he said.

According to Boyko, a refer-

endum must be held where all

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Students march in protest of rising tuition costs in Halifax, Nova Scotia during the CFS Day of Action.

students vote whether to remain members of CFS. If they vote no, only then can the SU retract their membership.

Comparing UPEI’s place in the CFS is like comparing Quebec’s situation in Canada, he said. When Quebec became part of Canada, they agreed to the terms of Confederation as outlined in the Canadian constitution. If they were to

leave Canada, they would have

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to hold a referendum before it could be done.

‘They could riot; however, decide within the government to leave Canada. The population has to agree.

This is essentially what UPEI has done, but only as a last resort to a long struggle, which included a referendum.

Eleven years ago, the ongo- ing battle for the university to

remove itself from the federa-

Our eet has been

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tion began, when the student union held a referendum asking whether students wanted to remain members of the CFS. At that time’74 per cent voted in favour of dropping out of the federation.

The CFS appealed the ref- erendum results, citing flaws in the process, and after threat of legal actions, the student

union overturned the result.

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Other schools, such as York University and Acadia Univer- sity, have also tried to drop out of the federation with similar results and lengthy court pro- cesses.

In 2004, the student union filed a report concluding they weren’t members of the fed- eration because of problems with the original contractual

agreement. The report stated - Cont. Pg 5