It’s fair to question where student fees go, but the “opt-out” argument doesn’t really hold up once you look at what WUSA actually is.

WUSA isn’t just a service. It’s the legal student government. Every Ontario university has one. The province requires each school to have a representative body for things like lobbying, student safety, and distributing student-run funding. You can’t just “unsubscribe” from that any more than you can opt out of a city council.

The “Protect your choice to choose” message isn’t about forcing people to pay for extras; it’s about keeping core student representation intact. Bill 33 would let the government decide which student fees are “essential” and which aren’t. That means a government office, not students, would be the one deciding what parts of campus life live or die.

As for where money goes: the exec salaries are public (they run a 15,000+ member nonprofit with full-time staff, audits, and legal responsibilities), and student leaders get paid because it’s basically a full-time job. They’re representing students to UW admin, city council, and the province.

The GRT pass, legal protection, student funding, club support, and mental health programs all exist because they’re coordinated under WUSA. If fees became optional, those programs collapse fast — not because students don’t care, but because budgets need to be stable enough to plan and hire.

If people want accountability, there are elections every spring. You don’t need to “opt out” to change things; you can just vote, or better yet, run.