By Ryan Pike
The University of Calgary’s small notice on the enrollment services website Tue., Mar. 18, noting they would no longer be accepting credit cards for tuition payments sparked calls for protest, the formation of angry Facebook groups and the circulation of leaflets calling into question the effectiveness of Students’ Union representation.
According to comments made by SU president Julie Bogle in the media following the announcement, the SU was not consulted in the decision, something that’s a bit of a head-scratcher given their comfortable relationship with the administration this year. Historically, the relationship between the SU and administration has ranged from cooperative to frosty, largely dependent on the SU president at the time. In years past, the SU has been alternately cordial and combative with the university-ranging from Matt Stambaugh’s tuition protests to the more cooperative approach taken by Bogle this year.
The range of approaches has also seen an equally wide range of results. Stambaugh’s often-combative stance contributed to the university’s decision to institute quality money grants in the years following his presidency. Two-term president Bryan West alternated between pugilistic and polite, calling out the university and the province during tuition consultation-especially during his first term, when the university began their budgeting process with the maximum tuition increase already assumed. Even so, West was beloved by members of administration, many of whom spent several minutes chatting with him during his convocation a couple years back.
As turn-of-the-20th-century American scholar Randolph Bourne once wrote, “he who mounts a wild elephant goes where the wild elephant goes.” The role of a student union is, rather bluntly, to ensure that the undergraduates do not get trampled by the rampaging elephant that is the university administration. Past student leaders have seen limited success in blocking tuition increases, primarily because tuition is out of the hands of the university, but they’ve also gotten undergraduates numerous scholarships and other resources for students. This is also downplaying the student influence on the Senate and Board of Governors, which may have steered the university away from disastrous decisions in the past.
If this year’s SU has been one thing, it’s professional. The big-ticket items they’ve tackled, like the affordable housing policy paper and tuition consultation, have been well-researched and presented with poise. Heck, U of C president Harvey Weingarten seconded their motion regarding tuition back in Dec., a move trumpeted by both sides as an indicator that the university and the students were working together.
The announcement caught all students off-guard and the finger of blame should no doubt be pointed at administration. However, not all students chat with administration on a regular basis, nor do they sit on the
Board of Governors or the Senate. As cozy as their relationship with administration can get, the SU is still, fundamentally, a union entrusted to make sure the students don’t get blindsided by university decisions. Whether it’s their fault or not, this time they failed to do so.