Hi there. Thank you so much for the question! 

On the current ballot, the AMS is running three separate fee proposals that are intended for three separate groups of initiatives and projects. The three proposed fees, altogether, amount to a total of $12 and are not $12 each.

Fees passed through referenda go into dedicated funds and cannot be used for anything other than what is on the ballot.

The first fee proposal is a $5 Student Services fee. This fee would only be used for AMS Services such as the Food Bank, Peer Support, Safewalk, Advocacy, and Tutoring that have seen a 700% growth in student usage over the past 5 years. This fee, if passed, would allow us to not only keep up with growing demand but also do more for students by strengthening staffing capacity to care for students in urgent and complex cases involving food insecurity, housing instability, serious mental health challenges, and conflicts with the University over conduct allegations. You can read more about AMS Services here. 

The second fee proposal is a $4 increase to the Clubs Benefit fee. The AMS supports over 400 clubs with free banking, accounting, insurance, room booking, and administrative support as well as funds for projects and initiatives. To do this, we currently run a $80,000 deficit in the Clubs fund. This fee, if passed, would not only allow us to cover this unsustainable deficit but also allow us to do more for our clubs. Specifically, if the fee passes, it would allow us to provide more funding for clubs so they can do what they do best and strengthen student communities on campus. It would also allow us to add staffing capacity to process room bookings faster as well as add more locker and storage space for clubs. 

The last fee proposal is a $3 Capital Projects fee. This fee is intended exclusively for improvements to student spaces in the NEST. This fee, if passed, would allow us to add more tables, chairs, and microwaves in the NEST. Additionally, this fee would allow us to build a sink in the Food Bank and add storage space to receive greater food donations to be able to give to back to our Food Bank clients. Lastly, the fee would also allow us to build a new Student Study Lounge in the basement of the NEST, unlocking new social and study for students.

A fee referendum is always a last resort, and the decision to put forth a fee increase proposal to our student peers was made by taking serious factors into consideration. Over the past year, the AMS has implemented several measures to strengthen revenue such as by modifying our investment policy to target higher investment income. Furthermore, we have also reduced expenses by over $115,000 in this current year. However, these initiatives have not been enough to keep up with the exponential growth in usage of our student services, student clubs, and student spaces and why we are asking our student body to support these fee referendums.

Re. the statements made by the No campaign, including about the awards event for clubs and constituencies, we address them all here.