image

Board of Governors Platform

Affordability

  • Background

    UBC, and Canada as a whole, is going through an affordability crisis, and students are being hit especially hard. In the 2024 AES , half of students reported worrying about affording groceries in the last year, with 48% of students reporting experiencing financial hardship related to tuition costs, while only 39% reported feeling like they are receiving good value for their tuition fees and only 15% feeling like UBC cares about their feelings regarding tuition costs. In the current affordability crisis, students should not be needing to decide between academic success and affording to meet their basic needs. As the body with final approval power over the budget and that oversees the highest level of UBC’s finances, the Board has the ability to make students' lives more affordable. Over the last year as a Student Senator, I have been a part of these important budgetary conversations and will take my experience and knowledge to the Board to fight to make that happen.

  • Fight for a tuition freeze

    Tuition freezes are possible, but not if all Student Governors do is go to the meeting and vote against the increase. I won’t just vote against tuition increases, I will actively lobby governors to push the university to work on creating income streams other than their students, which is how tuition freezes are actually possible. I will also work with both the AMS and UBC’s VP Externals to secure additional provincial funding to cover the gap due to frozen tuition.

  • Food security funding

    The $2.4 million in food security funding, funding that important services such as the AMS Food Bank rely on, is set to expire in the coming years. On the Board, I will work with the AMS to ensure that the funding is continued and increased to account for inflation and the rising cost of living.

  • Protecting Student Services from Cuts

    In the current budgetary situation, many important student services are on the chopping block. If elected, I will fight to ensure that no student service is lost during budget cuts. This includes fighting to increase the library’s funding to prevent the suggested cuts to library hours suggested by members of UBC’s administration.

  • Increasing needs-based aid

    This includes amending LR10 (the Financial Aid Policy) to introduce needs based aid for continuing international students. Additionally, I will work to allocate the currently annual unspent millions of dollars in endowed awards towards new needs-based funding.



  • Protecting the student affordability task force recommendations

    The Student Affordability Task Force created 10 recommendations, which were approved by the Board in 2022:
    1. Develop a multi-year tuition framework
    2. Provide tools to help students make informed decisions
    3. Revise the annual tuition consultation process
    4. Minimize costs of educational materials
    5. Address cost of living challenges (food security, housing and childcare)
    6. Update student aid processes and procedures
    7. Expand need-based aid for continuing international students
    8. Increase fundraising for need-based aid
    9. Advocate for increased student financial assistance programs at the provincial and federal government level
    10. Develop indicators to monitor and assess student affordability over time

    UBC’s administration has tried to backtrack on many of the commitments in the SATF recommendations. If elected, I will fight to ensure that each of these recommendations is protected and completed. This includes goal 7, much of which the administration has backtracked on based on “feasibility”, despite being researched by the SATF and approved by the Board. If elected, I will fight to reverse these decisions. Additionally, I will ensure that the SATF goals are completed in a timely manner, such as goal 10, the progress for which has been very slow. On the Board, I will push the administration to speed up the implementation for this recommendation and continue the work of previous Governors to advocate for all goals to be completed, even when the administration tries to get out of their commitment.

Housing

  • Background

    Vancouver is one of the most expensive cities in the country for renters, and students are impacted especially hard by this crisis. According to the 2024 Academic Experience Survey , 58% of student respondents experience hardship related to the cost of housing, with the sheer cost and limited availability of housing listed as key contributors. Students should not have to be worried about choosing between being able to pay rent and academic success, and it should be UBC’s responsibility to ensure that its students don’t face these barriers. If elected to the Board, I will fight to ensure that student housing is a top priority of the University.

  • Off campus rental bursaries

    Over the last two years, there have been discussions between UBC’s administration and the AMS about creating an off campus rental bursary. If elected, I will work with the AMS and other Governors to ensure that this bursary is created by the end of 2026.

  • Cap student housing fee increase to the provincial standard and create renters protections for residence housing

    Under the BC Residential Tenancy Act , landlords can only increase rent if they provide tenants with at least 3 months notice and the increase is currently capped at 3%. UBC’s residences are not subject to this act, and UBC raised rents up to 8% in the 23/24 academic year and 6% in the 24/25 academic year .

    On the Board, I will fight to require housing cost increases to align with the Residential Tenancy Act and ensure that students are also given the same renters protections as renters covered under the Act.

  • Increase the number of student beds and the amount of below-market rate housing built

    The 2023 amendment to the Land Use Plan commits to 9,500 neighbourhood housing units, while only committing to 3300 student beds and prioritizing market-rate housing. On the Board, I will push for more of the 9500 units to be below-market housing and for a commitment to increase the number of student beds.

Supporting Student Workers

  • Background

    Working is a key part of the university experience for many students and the only way that many are able to afford to attend UBC at all. Student workers are vital to UBC’s operations, yet UBC often does not treat their student workers well. If elected, I will ensure that student workers are given better treatment by the university and that more students have the opportunity to get a Work Learn or Co-op job.

  • Increase Work Learn and undergraduate research funding

    I will push for an increase in Work Learn funding and undergraduate research funding, so that more students have the opportunities to prepare for work or academia.

  • Support student worker unionization

    Unions are vital for the wellbeing of workers, including student workers. On the Board, I will support all student worker unionization and advocate for an increase in funding to the Labour Relations Board and the Employment Standards Branch to make it easier for workers to unionize.

  • Improving co-op program opportunities and lowering fees

    For many faculties, the current co-op program needs significant improvement. On the Board, I will advocate for improvements to the program, including increasing the number of jobs available; overhauling the mandatory workshops and training modules to better teach students and end unnecessary parts of the training; and make it more accessible for students with disabilities. Additionally, I will advocate for removing redundant Co-op fees that make students pay unnecessarily high costs just to work.

  • LR7 Review

    Student workers with disabilities face many challenges, which, as the former Vice-President Academic and University Affairs and current Co-President of the Disabilities United Collective, I have an in-depth understanding of and have been advocating to solve. I will use the Board’s Governance Committee to push for a review of LR7 (the Disability Accommodation Policy) and ensure that the review happens within the 25/26 academic year.

Ethical Investing

  • Background

    Our tuition money should not be used to fund human rights violations, climate change, or any other unethical practices. After declaring a climate crisis in 2019 and committing to divest from fossil fuels, UBC set a precedent that divestment was not in violation of the Board’s fiduciary duties and, if elected, I will fight to hold UBC accountable to the ethical and justice-based principles that the administration often espouses.

  • Divest from companies complicit in human rights violations, including arms manufacturers

    In the November 2024 UBCIM Responsible Investing Update to the finance committee, the VPFO confirmed that human rights was one of their tracked ESG metrics, yet nothing has been done to divest from companies complicit in human rights violations, including arms manufacturers. In the most recent holdings report , UBC reported owning investment in companies such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and BAE Systems. On the Board, I will push to ensure that UBC divests from all weapons manufacturers and other companies complicit in human rights violations.

  • Expand commitment to fully divest from fossil fuels

    This includes expanding the scope of divestment to all asset classes, including private equity and divesting other funds, such as the Working Capital Fund.

  • Financial transparency for UBC and UBC Investment Management Trust

    In order to properly hold UBC accountable to their commitments to divestment and ethical investing, we must be able to fully see where our money is going, other than a single yearly report from one fund. On the Board, I will fight to make sure that financial reports are released more regularly and for every fund and asset class.