On November 11th 2014, A-Society students voted in favour of a $1 million student donation for the construction of Engineering 7, with 76% of students in favour of an optional $25 fee to be collected termly until the total reaches $1 million. The fee would only take effect once the building is completed.
B-Society engineering students have an opportunity to vote in the referendum from March 11-14th. Since both societies are required to support the fee, the final result of the B-Soc vote will determine the fate of the entire referendum. More details on the proposal and the voting process will likely be released closer to the referendum date.
But this is not the first time that students have funded part of a building on campus. Most recently student money has been applied to Engineering 5, the Health Services Expansion, Tatham Centre, Fed Hall and the Student Life Centre. There have also been a few proposals for a new student building.
Originally built in 1968, the Student Life Centre, or the Campus Centre as it was known as back then, started out as a student project. In 1960, students agreed to pay $10 per term into a fund to build a student building on campus. A total of $29,000 ($225,656 in today’s dollar) was collected by 1962, but little progress was made with university admin.
Fearing that students could begin poaching university fundraising efforts to pay for a building, the university stepped in and funded the remainder of the Campus Centre. The original building was completed in 1968, the university’s 10th anniversary. The building has since undergone several additions and full management of the building was transferred to the Federation of Students on February 3, 2013.
The transfer of management of the Student Life Centre was a direct result of the negotiations over Fed Hall. Fed Hall was the first building funded mostly by students. In 1984 students voted in referendum to pay a total of $1.5 million over 20 years for the construction of a student nightclub. That fee was increased by $5 with a subsequent referendum in 1997 to pay for renovations to the space.
The building was paid off in 2004, and a new agreement needed to be signed with the University and Feds. The new agreement stipulated that the Federation of Students would pay a $1 yearly lease to the university for use of the space, and renewal of the agreement would not be unreasonably withheld.
In 2010, a clause was added to the agreement that the University Board of Governors could terminate the lease with 60 days’ notice without a major breach of the agreement. On April 30, 2012 the university terminated the lease to Fed Hall. The building then underwent extensive renovations to expand the food offerings for a banquet hall, and is due to re-open this term under Food Services’ control.
The Tatham Centre was also fully funded by students. A $25 per term fee was added to the co-op fee in 2003 through a memorandum of understanding between Feds and the university, not a referendum as is typically the case for student fees. The agreement includes a provision for use of the building as study space and recognition of the students’ contribution.
Interestingly, the payments for the buildings were completed in 10 years instead of the expected 25 years. A 58% increase in the number of co-op students since 2003 was the primary reason for the fee being removed in Winter 2014.
A pair of new buildings was put to referendum in Fall 2009. The health services expansion passed with 59% of the votes. The expansion increased the footprint of Health Services from 10,000 square feet to 28,000 square feet. The total cost of the building was $10 million, with approximately $2.25 million funded by donors. Students pay a $10 fee per term beginning in 2014. Students will continue to pay the expansion fee for approximately 20 years until the building is paid off.
The second building put to a referendum in Fall 2009 was a student services building. The building was proposed by The Federation of Students, the Graduate Students Association, and the University to provide a centralized place for all student services.
Located in Lot H between Ring Road and University Ave. it would house the Visitors Centre, Retail Services, the Office of Organizational and Human Development (OHD), the Office for Persons with Disabilities (and Exam Centre), the Student Life Office, a Writing Clinic, Counselling Services, and a multi-faith prayer room. It would also have 24 hour study space, meeting space and social space. A portion of the building would also be dedicated to the Graduate Students Association.
The proposal for a new student services building failed the referendum, with only 40% of students voting in favour. The proposal was for a fee of $49.50 for 20 years to fund 65% of the undergraduate portion of the building. A 2012 Imprint article credits a lack of knowledge about the proposal and a lack of consultation on the design as key contributing factors to the failed referendum. Students also cited a poor location and confusion on whether they would pay for a building that won’t be completed until they graduate. (For the record, the fee would only be applied when the building is open to students)
A redesigned proposal for a student building was created in 2012. Extensive student input was collected though conferences, committees, and online feedback surveys. This building would now be located between the Grad House and RCH. A report was created which outlined the feedback collected, and a detailed outline of all the space in the building. The four story building would feature a food and social hub, the second floor dedicated to Feds offices and services offices. The third floor features group and silent study, and a business centre. The top floor would be dedicated to clubs, with office space, bookable meeting space, and social space.
The proposal was brought forward by a Feds presidential candidate in 2013 and 2014, however both times he failed to gather the most votes. His opponents chose to focus on other areas, and there was little progress made towards addressing the student space crunch. This year, Feds president candidate Chris Lolas and Team Gold are proposing to put a new student building to a referendum to get a final word on if students want a new student building.
Student space has also been allocated in parts of buildings through a student fee. Most recently, Engineering 5 was partially funded by a $1 million donation from the Waterloo Engineering Endowment Fund (WEEF). That donation was matched by the Dean of Engineering, and again by the University for a total of $4 million. The total cost for the 176,000 square foot building was $55 million.
Being an endowment, WEEF usually only donates the funds generated by interest to student projects, but an exception was made for this Engineering 5. The WEEF principal is funded by an optional $75 fee for engineering students. The justification behind the WEEF donation was that Engineering 5 would feature the Sedra Student Design Centre. Prior to the creation of this space, engineering design teams were spread across very cramped rooms mostly in Engineering 3.
The Dean of Engineering is requesting a similar $1 million donation from students for the construction of Engineering 7. E7 will be connected to E5 at every floor, and be located between E5 and E6. Student space will include a second engineering C&D shop, lounge, large study space, an expanded student machine shop and a 2 story areal test space. Each floor will also feature storage space for capstone design projects. The key feature of Engineering 7 will be the Engineering Ideas Clinic™, an experimentation and re-engineering space where students can build and test new ideas. The building will also feature a large atrium and an event space with a stage for pitches or performances.
The $25 fee for the $88 million building will begin when the building is complete, and is expected to last 4-5 years until the $1 million contribution is fulfilled. More details on the building will likely be released in the upcoming weeks, and the B-Soc referendum on E7 will be held on March 11th to 14th.
The current proposals for E7 and a new student building are just the latest in a long history of students taking action to fund projects that benefit them. I encourage you to research the projects and determine if they will indeed benefit students, and are worth the investment of significant student funds.
Sources for more information:
Tatham centre
Paid off in 10 years instead of 25 in winter 2014
https://uwaterloo.ca/co-operative-education/tatham-centre-end-building-fee-celebration
58% growth in co-op students
http://www.uwimprint.ca/article/4171-waterloo-watch
Built in 2001 http://web.archive.org/web/20110723202218/http://uwaterloo.ca/aboutuw/buildings.php
$25 for $25 years via a mou not a referendum paid by co-op students ensured that students would have access
http://s3.amazonaws.com/UWPublications/Imprint/2000-01_v23/2000-01_v23,n33_Imprint.pdf
Fed hall
http://www.uwimprint.ca/article/1966-the-rise-and-fall-of-federation
SLC
http://www.feds.ca/blog/federation-of-students-assumes-full-management-control-of-the-student-life-centre-at-the-university-of-waterloo/
https://uwaterloo.ca/student-life-centre/about-student-life-centre/history-student-life-centre
Health services
$10 per term, 10M total
http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/props/?module=displaystory&story_id=4765&format=html
School provided 2.25 from donations
https://uwaterloo.ca/health-services/sites/ca.health-services/files/uploads/files/Health%20Services%20Brochure%20final.pdf
New student building 1
http://www.uwimprint.ca/article/68-new-student-building-proposal-coming
New student building 2
See dropbox
E5
1m from weef, matched by dean and university http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/2010/11/03/4999/engineering-5/
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