Students can expect to see a proposed ASUS fee increase on their referendum ticket this coming February. 

 The increase is intended to fund ASUS 130, a package of proposed reforms named in honour of ASUS’ 130th anniversary. The proposals will be voted on by ASUS Assembly if the fee increase passes at referendum in February.

 “Arts and Science have grown a lot over the past 5-10 years […] and ASUS needs to grow with it,” David Niddam-Dent, ASUS president, said in an interview with The Journal.

 On the referendum ticket are two fee proposals: a $4.76 increase to the $26.79 mandatory ASUS fee and the establishment of a $2.75 ASUS Orientation fee.

 The Orientation fee would offload Orientation costs from individual first-years onto all Arts & Science students, lowering the cost of Orientation by $15 per student.

“Orientation is so, so important to Queen’s […] and by bringing everybody together in support of Orientation, you do find, I think, a more unified Queen’s community,” Niddam-Dent said.

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The ASUS 130 package includes three proposals. First, ASUS is proposing the addition of a third member of the ASUS Executive. If passed, this proposal would create the structure of President, Vice-President (operations)/CFO, and Vice-President (society affairs).

“Right now, as it stands, ASUS represents 13,000 students,” Niddam-Dent said. “We have two elected people to do that, and it’s simply not enough. Arts & Science students deserve better representation.”

Second, ASUS is proposing an increase to volunteer compensation through a restructuring of ASUS honoraria, involving a four-tier honoraria system and the introduction of $25 food credits.

 ASUS is also proposing increased Orientation compensation: the introduction of salaries for the four ASUS Orientation Chairs and a $25 food credit for the 36 ASUS OCs.

“Accessibility was definitely a huge theme,” Matt D’Alessandro, ASUS vice-president, said in an interview with The Journal. “I believe it is an equity issue, that people who can’t afford to not be compensated and work just can’t get involved in student government if they want to.”

Since October, the proposals have seen targeted consultations with ASUS Assembly, ASUS Advisory Board, and past ASUS executive members.

All Arts & Science students received an email from ASUS Jan. 11, informing them of the project and asking for their feedback through an online form. They also held a virtual Town Hall Jan. 15 for students to share their feedback. 

“It was great,” D’Alessandro said. “We definitely took a lot away from it, and it definitely helped us finalize some of the proposals.”

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According to Niddam-Dent, the feedback form hasn’t seen much student engagement. He said ASUS still attained the student perspective, however, through their targeted consultations—ASUS Assembly and Advisory Board are both composed of students.

“We’ve been able to get a variety of perspectives even though, unfortunately, we were hoping for a little bit more engagement with the form that didn’t necessarily come through,” he said. 

He said ASUS is also planning on hosting various events the week of the referendum to talk to students about the proposals, attain more feedback, and adjust the policies as necessary.

“We look forward to hopefully getting to as many students as possible,” Niddam-Dent said. “At the end of the day, it is their decision.”

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