VIU students to vote on adding a new fee for a proposed student-owned building

Lyana said that if the referendum passes, the students’ union will jump straight into planning what the possibilities the new building could look like. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

Vancouver Island University students are going to have a say in whether they approve of a new fee to support the construction of a new student activity centre.

The Vancouver Island University Students’ Union is running a referendum this week where students will vote for or against the proposed building. 

Sarah Mei Lyana is the chairperson of the students’ union and a political studies student.

She told CHLY that while the discussion of a new student activity centre has been ongoing for many years between the VIUSU and the university, it wasn’t until this past year after VIU took away the 24-7 hours at the library that VIUSU knew they wanted to create a building fully owned and operated by VIU students.

“So, for example, like the library now, the VIU administration decided to not make it 24-7 when it was before,” Lyana said. “But if it's student-owned, whatever the students say in future goes. If they don't want it to be 24-7, then it won't be, but if they want it to be full access all the time, then it will.”

Lyana said students will have more of a say in what they would like to see the building provide.

“So we would also provide more student spaces. For example, clubs would have more rooms or different kinds of club resources,” Lyana said. “There would be more potential for more affordable dining options because currently everything is up to the school, and there's not much variety, nor affordable options for people to eat on campus, so we could provide more affordable food options for students here.” 

She said that along with spaces for clubs and student activities, there is potential for outside organizations or businesses to rent spaces in the building that would help cover the costs of running the building as well offer more on-campus jobs for students. 

There are also discussions of the building becoming a potential space for a new athletics building.

Other universities have similar student-run and student-managed buildings. One example is The Nest at UBC, operated by the Alma Mater Society, which offers food options, study spaces, lounge spaces, and spaces for clubs and events for students. 

Voting for the referendum will take place from April 9th until April 11th at 4:00 p.m. 

Lyana said if the referendum is passed, the new building fee would start in September 2025 at $10 a month. The fee would rise to $20 a month the following year and remain at that rate.

The new proposed building fee would be in addition to the current VIUSU fees, currently costing $28.67 per month, that go towards the students’ union’s operational and club costs, as well as other student organizations.

“Students are deciding whether to create a new building fund that would only go towards creating the new building and not be touched by anything else,” Lyana said.

Unrelated to VIUSU, VIU’s administration has its own student activity and services fees that cover student health services, access to technology, extracurricular activities and athletic programs for students.

Only students attending the Nanaimo campus for their studies will be charged the proposed building fee. Cowichan and tiwšɛmawtxw campus students will not be included.

The project timeline for the new building is to have it built in the next five to seven years.

Lyana said while current students may be graduated by the time the building is built, the new fee is an investment for future students.

“We see it as an investment first for future students to use, and everything that we have now was an investment by previous students. So all that we already own was an investment by prior students,” Lyana said. “So we want to keep paying it forward to future generations. Also, it will be open to alumni and whatever the students decide, so you can always come back as community members to use the building.”

She said this new building is important to create a new space where students can come together at any time for academic or non-academic purposes.

“Especially now that the library is not 24-7, I would like more spaces on campus where students can feel like they can go at any time and feel safe and find some cheap food or hang out with their friends to do work,” she said. “There are so many things that this building could be used for, all in one space. So it would be more conducive for all of the population of students to come together and connect, instead of just going to classes and going home.”

Lyana said that if the referendum passes, the students’ union will jump straight into planning what the possibilities the new building could look like.

“If the referendum passes, we would immediately start working on sponsorship packages, look for collaboration, opportunities for different food options that we can bring into this.” she said. “All sorts of different businesses that we think would be ideal and relevant to students, we would immediately start reaching out.”

They would also look for opportunities with businesses as well as the City of Nanaimo and the Government of B.C. for financial support.

As the plan continues, VIUSU will work with the university for its location and construction.

On April 9, students will receive an email with a link to their ballot. Students will have until April 11 at 4:00 p.m. to cast their vote.

Editor’s note: CHLY 101.7 was consulted by Vancouver Island University in 2018 regarding space in a Physical Literacy Education and Activity Centre.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.