From March 10th to 14th, engineering undergraduates had the opportunity to vote on the E7 Referendum. The referendum, proposed by the Dean of Engineering, asked students weather they were in favour of donating a total of one million dollars to student space in the upcoming build of Engineering 7. This donation would be charged as a twenty five dollar optional fee once the building is occupied. Students would be able to opt out of the fee similarly to other optional fees that are currently charged with tuition. Any surplus collected from the fee would be used furnish the student space.
With a vote of 63% against the donation, ‘B’ Society has officially voted ‘No’ for the referendum. The vote received significant participation from the undergraduate student body with 1145 participants. The referendum was voted on separately by both ‘A’ and ‘B’ Societies with Engsoc ‘A’ Society voting yes in Fall 2014. In order for the referendum to pass, both societies would have needed to vote ‘Yes’. Therefore, since ‘B’ Society has voted ‘No’, the referendum does not pass and future undergraduates will not be seeing a twenty five dollar fee as a result of this referendum.
What Does This Mean for E7?
Although the referendum did not pass, Engineering 7 is still scheduled for construction in October 2015. Engineering Society representatives from both Societies will be re-entering discussion with the faculty about space for students in E7. Individuals interested in more information about E7 can stop by the EngSoc Office, the Deans Office, or contact info@engsoc.uwaterloo.ca.
I would like to thank Filzah Nasir, Melissa Buckley, and Madeline Amszej for their work as the campaign committees for the referendum. All did an excellent job of campaigning the yes and no sides of the vote and encouraging students to vote. Thank you also to everyone who took the time to participate in the survey, your input was greatly appreciated.
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