CUSA Referendum Crisis!

Today, CUSA VP Internal Ariel Norman revealed proposed referendum questions for the 2012 CUSA General Election ballots:

1. Are you in favour of a mandatory universal transit pass for full-time undergraduate students at a cost of $180 per semester for each the Fall and Winter term, with annual increases of a maximum 012.5%, beginning in September 2012?
2. Are you in favour of the Bylaw and Policy amendments as recommended by the Governance Reform Committee?
3. Do you approve a $2 increase in the student levy for WUSC Carleton, a committee responsible for sponsoring refugee students facing war, persecution, and/or environmental devastation through the Student Refugee Program since 1978?
4. Are you in favour of banning groups such as Lifeline, the Genocide Awareness Project, Campaign for Life Coalition and other organizations whose primary purpose is to use inaccurate information and violent images to discourage women from exploring all options in the event of pregnancy from Carleton University campus?
5. Are you in favour of rescinding the levy of the Carleton Academic Student Government (CASG), a group whose sole purpose is to elect students to departmental boards, but spends half of their annual budget on honorarium?
6. Do you support Carleton University adopting a binding socially responsible investment policy that would require it to divest from companies complicit in illegal military occupations and other violations of international law, including, but not limited to: BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, Motorola and Tesco Supermarkets?
7. Are you in favour of amending CUSA’s anti-discrimination on campus policy to include banning all groups that promote guns and gun violence?

(link to actual copy of referendum)

These referendum questions not only violate student rights, but specifically target conservative, gun-safety, pro-life, and pro-Israel groups and student groups on campus!  Apparently, free speech only applies on Carleton’s campus when CUSA agrees with you.

Free speech is not debatable.  The right of students to advocate for issues close to them is not debatable.  CUSA’s executives have constantly undermined student groups and CUSA council all year, and have added another burden to students by proposing these questions.

Carleton needs change. If you agree with us than get involved with pro-accountability, pro-student candidates during the CUSA elections and bring these questions (and the CUSA executives’ many other misdemeanours) to the attention of your friends and classmates.

The time for action is now. We’ll be discussing our plan of action this Saturday Jan 14th at the Carleton Conservatives Delegate Selection Meeting (view Link), BE THERE AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS!

The Carleton Conservatives will be working hard during the next CUSA election to ensure accountability, transparency, respect for students, and candidates who will be as good as their word.