A Vote No campaign has been launched against an upcoming University College Dublin (UCD) referendum on the continuation of a student levy to cover the cost of an extension to the student centre.
The referendum is expected to ask the question: “Are you in favour of the proposed extension of the Student Centre levy to fund the Student Centre Extension?”
The levy, which is currently charged at €254 per student each year, is set to expire in 2023 when the mortgage on the existing centre is paid off.
The continuation of the levy proposed by the referendum would be put towards an extension of the student centre.
The Vote No campaign cites “no transparency”, “no concrete plans or costings presented to the student body”, and the potential for future increases in the levy as key reasons to petition for a no vote.
Speaking to Trinity News, the campaign’s Press Officer Stuart Scully said: “This vote presents an opportunity for students to take a stand against the college’s exploitation of our finances.”
“The student levy has increased year after year, yet our facilities remain underfunded,” he continued. “Voting no is the students of UCD telling the university we will not pay again and again for the empty and broken promises. Voting no is a demand that UCD puts the wellbeing of the students first.”
In a leaflet, the Vote No campaign states: “In a time when attending college is more expensive than ever, and when supports have been cut through years of austerity, you deserve the best services for your money.”
The leaflet outlines that students “deserve to know what [they] are paying for” and “deserve the best services for [their] money”.
In 2017, Trinity students voted for the introduction of a €30 student levy to update existing student spaces and to build a new student centre on campus. However, Academic Registry has not charged the levy in the two years since due to a shortcoming in its systems.
