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to Issue #11In an October 20th election, students from the University College of the Cariboo voted to withdraw their membership by a 75 per cent vote. To the question, "Do you wish to remain a member of the CFS?", 162 students voted yes, while 526 voted no. The day before, Dalhousie University students of Nova Scotia had been the latest to withdraw their membership. Meanwhile, Langara College students voted, by a close vote, to withdraw their membership in February, and Capilano College students will vote in the new year.
These developments not only mean a loss of student support and membership fees for the Federation, but a loss of confidence which may undermine the credibility of the organization.
Among the criticisms aimed at the Federation was the question of financial accountability. Heather Faulkner of The Gleaner at Langara said, "We were paying annual fees of $80 000 to the Federation, but for two years we didn't see any of that and we never had CFS national or provincial reps speaking at school."
Similarly, the issue of staff salaries and general meetings, which take place twice a year at a cost of over $50 000, has raised concern for some students that not enough money was being put into campaigns for student rights.
The sentiment was echoed by Dom Walton, President of the Cariboo Student Society, who said "there was not enough focus on educational matters" and that the Federation was "more interested in our money than in our students."
Opponents also paint the picture of the Federation as a bureaucracy that is out of touch with its students while purporting to represent the student movement.
Jeremy Galpin, former CFS representative for the Emily Carr College of Art and Design, said, "People who get involved with the CFS try to make the link between the students and the bureaucracy but are overwhelmed by the bureaucracy." In a recent example, the CFS has proposed a one day strike for universities across the country to protest the Axworthy Reforms, an idea which some students dismiss as unrealistic and even "out of touch".
Faulkner and Walton have pointed out the only time students met with field workers from the Federation was during the pull-out referendum campaigns, in which executive members were sent to both schools to actively campaign for the continuation of their membership.
In addition, criticism has been directed to the political affiliation of the CFS which is believed to support the policies of the NDP because certain executive members had been members of the NDP. There was concern that executive members were interested only in using their positions as a "springboard" for their future career aspirations.
Dave Kapelle, the provincial organizer for the CFS in Vancouver, refuted these accusations and called them "outrageous statements that are absolutely not true."
He explained the CFS faces "tremendous financial accountability" citing budget sheets which are produced bi- annually and available for student scrutiny.
Kapelle explained the membership may attend meetings and has the right to access the process at any time. With regard to student representation, he explained it is not CFS's responsibility to have a permanent representative on campus.
"It's a responsibility of the provincial executive to bring the material back from the meetings and the responsibility of the student union to ensure that the information is reaching the students."
Politically Kapelle said that the CFS " can't be seen as an NDP hack organization," claiming they are not politicians. "Our job is to criticize the NDP position, or other political positions," stated Kapelle.
Similarly, Lee-Ann Clarke, the newly elected President of the SFU Student Society (SFSS) and acting CFS Women's Liaison Officer, stated "We don't endorse any political party but we do endorse or condemn the actions of political parties, such as the Reform Party and its racist policies."
Regarding the issue of upcoming Axworthy reforms, Kapelle believes the national strike is "one part of an overall plan which includes lobbying; it is part and parcel of a campaign to try to influence politicians."
Far from being removed from students, Clarke believes that the "CFS works in conjunction with other students [and] really cares about student rights and student issues."
"At Langara," Kapelle added, "it was an executive that didn't do the work on campus. If they had done their job as they were supposed to, we wouldn't have had a referendum. The same thing can be said about Cariboo, who attended only one provincial meeting, failed to distribute material and didn't do anything."
Clarke agrees, "I question how the Cariboo Student Society represented the CFS to their students."