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Five societies looking for levies

You’ll have the option of voting to increase the budgets of certain student societies when DSU elections come by this March.

CKDU, DalOUT, the Dalhousie Legal Aid Service Society, the Dalhousie Outdoors Society and South House are all looking to have levy questions on this March’s elections ballots.

The Dalhousie Legal Aid Service Society and the Dalhousie Outdoors Society are looking for completely new levies, while South House is hoping to keep the conditional one-year levy granted to them by Dal’s Board of Governors.

If every levy question is successful, full-time Dal students on Halifax campuses would pay an extra $3.75 per semester starting in the 2015/2016 academic year. Part-time students would pay $2.50 more.

None of these levies have yet seen the many approvals they must face in order to make it to the ballots, but they’ve reached the first step – DSU council has approved referring them all to their Board of Operations.

Currently, full-time students pay $66.75 and part-time students pay $26.47 per year to levied societies.

CKDU

CKDU, Dal’s campus radio station, has not received an increase in levy funding since 1985. Their cost of maintaining equipment and operating in general has been affected by inflation.

They’re looking to get an extra quarter from every full-time student per semester, and 50 cents more from every part time student per semester. Currently, full-time Dal students pay $4.50 per semester and part-time students pay $1.50 per semester to CKDU. Their levy increase, like their current levy, would only apply to Halifax campuses.

South House

South House, Dal’s on-campus gender justice and sexual resource centre, is not looking to increase their levy. They’re hoping to keep the conditional levy they received last year after Dalhousie’s Board of Governors took issue with formatting errors in their successful levy question.

The South House vote is to continue their levy at $3 per full-time student per fall and winter semesters, $1.58 per full time student per summer semester, $1.50 per part-time student per fall and winter semesters, $0.68 per part-time student per summer semester. This levy only applies to students on Halifax campuses.

If South House’s conditional levy is discontinued, they’ll revert to the levy amount they received in the 2013/2014 academic year. This would see their budget face a loss of $1.42 per full-time student per semester, and 82 cents per part-time student per semester.

DalOUT

DalOUT, Dal’s LGBTQIAP+ society, has not received a levy increase since 2007. They say they’d like to hire a part-time volunteer coordinator to most efficiently manage the growing ranks of their volunteers.

Currently, DalOUT receives 25 cents from full-time students per semester. They do not receive a levy from part-time students. The levy they’re asking for would increase their full-time student fee to 50 cents per semester and have part-time students pay 25 cents per semester, only on Halifax campuses.

Dalhousie Legal Aid Service Society

The Dalhousie Legal Aid Service Society is looking for a new levy. They say they’ll offer new services to students free of charge if their levy is passed.

These services would include private consultations for summary advice, Notary Public signatures on legal documents, Commissioner of Oath signatures on legal documents and certified copies, and they’ll hold legal information sessions on landlord/tenant issues.

The fee would be $2.50 per full-time student per term and $1.50 per part-time student per term, for Halifax campuses only.

Dalhousie Outdoors Society

The Dalhousie Outdoors Society is also looking for a new levy.

They’re looking to receive 50 cents per term for full time students and 25 cents per term for part time students on Halifax campuses only.

Their current funds go towards holding outdoor activity trips across Nova Scotia. Part of their levy would go towards providing funding of up to $1,000 per year to support the activities of outdoor activity societies, decided by a vote at their AGM.

They’re looking for 50 cents per term for full-time students, and 25 cents per term for part-time students, in Halifax only.

Jesse Ward
Jesse Ward
Jesse, editor-in-chief of the Gazette, is a fifth-year student of journalism at Dalhousie and the University of King’s College. He started university with three years of experience writing for Teens Now Talk magazine, where he is now copy editor. Before writing a story Jesse likes to think about how his metal detector could finally be useful in researching this one, but there is never a way it could be. Jesse has produced writing and interactive features for Globalnews.ca and The Chronicle Herald. He may be followed on Twitter, @RealJesseWard, or from the Gazette office on Mondays around 8 p.m. to his home in West End Halifax. Email Jesse at editor@dalgazette.com.
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