By Toby White
Editors, the Gauntlet
Re: "McQ’s becomes McSU’s," May 18, 2000
Re: "Outcry over ousting of McQ’s," July 20, 2000
There has been a lot of misinformation and misconceptions concerning the issue of the convenience store. Mr. Cho was not "kicked out" of McQ’s. The Students’ Union decided not to renew his lease when it expired. Mr. Cho was given advance notice that the lease would not be renewed, and we purchased his leftover inventory.
Yes, the SU decided to take over McQ’s when their lease ended. Are people like Nima Dorjee and James Dugan implying that leases should go on into eternity? Leases end–that’s the whole point of a lease. It’s not a moral or ethical issue, and certainly not a matter that should involve compensation being paid. As a matter of fact, Mr. Cho’s lease was 10 years old when it expired; this must have been one of the longest leases in our building’s history. During those 10 years, Mr. Cho also enjoyed the lowest rent in MacEwan Student Centre and, contrary to what Mr. Quayat would have you believe, did not pay the SU a percentage of his sales.
As for the claim that the Cho family sponsored scholarships for many years, the truth is that it was only offered twice in the last 15 years.
You’re right: the SU’s mandate is to serve students. It was exactly with this in mind that we decided not to renew the lease and operate the store ourselves. If we are to continue charging the lowest student fees in Canada for a school this size (fees that only amount to about 23 per cent of our operating budget), we need to find new revenue sources. Rather than increase student fees or the prices at Max Café, we chose this route as the most fiscally responsible one for our members. All the profits from the store will now go back to serving and representing our members.
In fact, most convenience stores in student buildings across Canada are owned and operated by their SUs. You may also be interested to know that, since taking over, we have reduced prices and increased the level of service at the convenience store.
The SU felt it was much more appropriate for the convenience store to be operated by students, with all profits going to students, rather than allowing someone else to profit from students.