DSU Student Elections & Referendum

2023 DSU STUDENT ELECTION period is now over. Thank you to all who voted. The 2023-2024 Board of Directors will begin their terms May 1, 2024. 

Questions? Please email elections@thedsu.ca 

Please read through the DSU Bylaws and Policies, especially those related to the DSU Elections.

BYLAW VI- Election of Board of Directors Members

POLICY 10.03: Referendum Regulations

POLICY 10.04: Elections Regulations

 

Policy 10.03: Referendum Regulations Policy 10.04: Election Regulations DSU Bylaws DSU Governance Policies DSU Financial Policies DSU Operations Policies DSU Services Policies

Here are the results from the election:

Accessibility Representative: An Trebunski

Campus Representative – Coquitlam: Debanhi Herrera Lira, Julianne Waldron

Campus Representative – New West: Elijah Kim, Maya Moalla, Nithin Rajendran, Amarpreet Singh

Director of Campus Life: Harvey Polino

Director of College Relations: Ava Ferenc

DIrector of External Relations: Bailey Cove

Director of Finance: Myungsan Yun

Director of Membership Development: Douglas Treloar

Indigenous Students’ Representative: Chloe Archuleta

Pride Representative: Andi Schartner

Womens’ Representative: Kyrstyn Llagas

The 2023-2024 Board of Directors will begin their terms May 1, 2023.

Candidates were given the opportunity to submit a video, up to 3 minutes in length, to answer questions for the Election Forum.

You can watch the candidate videos through our Youtube channel and the link here.

The building fee has not increased beyond CPI since 1999 and is currently $1.82 per semester. Building and capital fees at SFU are $99 per semester and other Students’ Unions in BC range from $14.72 to $76 per semester for students enrolled in full-time studies. The building was renovated between 2018 and 2021 and repairs, maintenance, and amortization costs have increased beyond CPI. Future capital projects are planned to upgrade the exterior and roof of the building and to create larger student spaces on the Coquitlam campus.

Students voted in a referendum in 2003 to implement the Health and Dental Plan at a rate of $260 per year that has not increased since, and was reduced in 2018 to $250 without a reduction in service levels. While the majority of Health and Dental plans at post-secondary institutions in BC are $275 or more, the DSU seeks annually to maintain and increase service levels of the plan to meet the needs of members while costs of the plan have increased nearly 15% over the past 3 years.

The current definition of full-time for the health and dental plan automatic enrolment is 9 credits and students registered with the accessibility department are considered full-time at 6 credits. By decreasing the minimum credit limit for automatic enrollment, it would increase accessibility to more members, while members enrolled in external plans may opt out with comparable coverage or chose to combine coverage.

Are you in favour of the following:

The Building Fee being increased by $2.00 per semester (equal to $0.50 per month) as of September 1, 2023, and allow for annual increases of $2.00 for the following two years?

The Health and Dental Fee being increased by $15 per year (equal to $1.25 per month) to be a total of $265 per year as of September 1, 2023?

The Health and Dental plan automatic enrolment being decreased from 9 credits to 6 credits as of September 1, 2023?

Question #1
Are you in favour of the DSU Building Fee being increased by $2.00/semester as of September 2023, and allow for annual increases of $2.00 for the following two years?
Passed 57.77%

Question #2
Are you in favour of the Health and Dental Fee being increased by $15/year to be a total of $265 per year as of September 2023?
Failed 48.70%

Question #3
Are you in favour of the Health and Dental plan automatic enrolment being decreased from 9 credits to 6 credits as of September 2023?
Passed 79.6%

 The results of the referendum will come into place September 2023.

With all the changes everyone has experienced over the past few years, the Douglas Students’ Union has tried to keep up with these changes to better support students and to keep services as accessible and affordable as we can by not increasing fees, but unfortunately, we’re at a time where the building and the health and dental plan are no longer sustainable at their current rates.  

From 2018-2022, the DSU building was renovated to include better spaces for you, including new study rooms and lounges, yet the building fee hasn’t increased since 1999! Other student union’s, with similar spaces, have building fees that range from $15-$99/semester, yet the DSU fee is only $1.82/semester. This low fee no longer sustains the current building and spaces and doesn’t allow for proper maintenance or possible expansions in Coquitlam.  

The DSU health and dental plan started in 2003, and over the years new service levels and benefits have been added but the fee hasn’t increased. The plan is very heavily used by students, and we’ve seen a 15% increase over the past 3 years, which has made the plan no longer sustainable or affordable to maintain.  

Currently “full-time” for the health and dental plan automatic enrolment is 9 credits; however, students registered with the accessibility department are considered “full-time” at 6 credits. To make the plan more accessible for all students, we are asking to decrease the credits for automatic enrolment from 9 to 6.  

Overall, the impact to you would be:  

• Increase of $2.00/semester for the DSU building fee 
• Increase of $1.25/month for the health and dental plan fee 
• Decrease automatic enrollment for health and dental plan users from 9 to 6 credits 

We are excited to continue to offer these services and possible expansions to you, and we hope you VOTE YES!