Dinos plebiscite

By Emily Senger

Dinos Athletics will use a plebiscite question in the upcoming SU General Election to ask students to dip into their own pockets and support the home team.


The Dinos Athletics Fee plebiscite proposes a fee increase of $6 for full-time undergraduate students and $22.75 for part-time undergrads in 2004-06, with a $1.50 increase for each of the three years after. The plebiscite question also states in its preamble that without an increase in funding Dinos Athletics will be forced to reduce the present number of varsity teams from 22 to 8.


“A no vote could mean the end of 200 players, and 14 out of 22 teams folding,” said Gable Gross, a Dinos hockey player and a proponent for the increase.


While he supports Dinos Athletics, SU Engineering Faculty Representative Patrick Boyle is not in favour of the Dinos Athletics Fee plebiscite question itself. Boyle feels the SLC was not given enough time to deliberate on the question before passing it, and he does not think part time students should pay the same fee amounts as full time students.


“On behalf of every member of the SU, we support the Dinos but we don’t think the plebiscite as passed was fair–we didn’t have the question until that day,” explained Boyle.


Boyle also believes if the question receives a no vote, the university will secure the funding elsewhere or raise fees anyway.


“I think that the university is bluffing,” speculated Boyle. “I don’t think the university is willing to let it [cutting Dinos team] happen.”