SU Elections 2023 Q&A: Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation Student Society Referendum
The 2023 Student Association Election gives students enrolled in the Department of Kinesiology, Physical Education and Recreation an opportunity to vote on the Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation Student Society (KSRSS) Membership Dues Extension (FAMF).
The KSRSS FAMF fee is used to provide social, academic and charitable events for students. This referendum proposes a fee of $3 per fall and winter semester.
KSRSS is represented by Olivia Harris, a kinesiology student at the University of Alberta and former Vice President (Finance) of KSRSS.
The following interview has been shortened and simplified for reasons of clarity.
What is this referendum supposed to achieve?
Olivia Harris: We are holding a referendum to create a faculty association contribution (FAMF) for our faculty. We will hopefully raise $3 each fall and winter semester. With this money we will lower the cost of higher-priced events like the graduation banquet, the KSR camp – our camp for new students – and increase the services in our office.
For students who don’t know, what is the Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation Student Society (KSRSS)?
harris: We are the interest group of kinesiology. We support students and faculty and facilitate connections between students and faculty members. We also provide academic, social and general information and services to help students have a fun and supported university experience.
If this referendum is passed, how much will the students pay and how was that cost determined?
harris: If passing, students will pay $3 per semester for the winter and fall semesters. And the costs were determined because we still wanted to keep them relatively low. Kinesiology has never had a FAMF, this is brand new. The FAMF would be 30 percent of our budget, so it’s not like most of our money comes from them. We will still rely heavily on admissions sales, grants and other sales.
Will all students pay this fee?
harris: So all full-time and part-time students [enrolled in the faculty] who are on campus and enrolled in fall or winter classes pay the fee. Students who are entirely off-campus do not pay, and summer students and spring students do not pay. Students can receive a refund and the refund mechanism is heavily promoted on our social media, but this must be done before the September add/drop deadline.
Why do you think students should be interested in the work of the KSRSS?
harris: We are one of the few faculties that run a freshman camp. This creates good group cohesion for first-year students and helps them to network for their studies. So the students should really care about where that money goes, especially for the next few people who come in to make the camp more accessible.
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