YFS spending $15,000 of student money on week-long campus event
News Department
York’s student union is set to host a Frost Week, funded with a substantial amount of student money. Some students feel the timing is just not right.
Frost Week has been organized by the York Federation of Students (YFS), offering the campus 16 different events at a cost of approximately $15,000. This comes out of the levy students pay to the union from their total tuition amount.
Some of the events include setting up a skating rink in the Harry W. Arthur Commons alongside a “Sultan’s tent” with complimentary hot chocolate and hookah.
Not all students are impressed. Ingrid Castro, second-year biology and psychology student, says she would rather see her student levy to the YFS be spent on other things, such as more effort put towards dropping tuition fees.
“I’d rather see the money go to something that helps all students,” says Castro, explaining that not all students are bound to take part in the Frost Week events. In fact, she will not be taking part.
“I feel like it’s just a waste of money,” she says.
For Monirul Pathan, vp campus life of the YFS, however, part of student life is having fun, meeting new people, and interacting with one another.
“Part of academics and part of student life here at York is not just go to classes, do your assignments, and come into York and leave York, but also having students get an overall experience that encompasses fun events where they can meet new folks and have conversations with peers,” he says.
Meanwhile, political science student Kevin Mahato says that for many students, this week is packed with assignments and school work—something that is not as present in the first week of the fall semester during Frosh Week, and many students simply don’t have the time to participate.
“It would be more beneficial for students to have that money [left] for themselves,” says Mahato, who added that he didn’t feel Frost Week was necessary since Frosh Weeks are already in place.
Pathan says Frost Week is important for student life, especially to new incoming students of the winter semester.
“York is one of the universities that has a large number of incoming students during the winter semester […] who have missed out on a lot of the orientation events that happen in September,” he explains. “It’s also for students who are returning who have had a stressful exam time.”
When asked why student levy money was being spent on events such as Frost Week—which may not necessarily address student concerns, such as expanding prayer space and student space—Pathan explains that the YFS undertakes different initiatives on different avenues.
“We are doing a Frost Week, but at the same time we are advocating for lower tuition fees side-by-side,” says Pathan. “The YFS tries to address the improvement of student life from many different perspectives at the same time.”
While he says Frost Week is a result of YFS executives consulting hundreds of students every day in Vari Hall, he states the initial decision for a Frost Week occurred at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year in September.
“It’s a cost-benefit analysis,” says Pathan. The YFS, he says, evaluates the number of students who will benefit from the event. He alleges that Frost Week will cater to approximately 10,000 to 15,000 students. This estimate is nearly a quarter of the total undergraduate student population at York.
Presumably, this estimate is based on projected numbers at the Vari Hall events, since all other events—even at capacity—would only serve a few thousand students. It remains unclear how Frost Week, with an itinerary composed significantly of events held at the Underground which only holds 840 people, will be able to hit its target of over 10,000 students.
But not all students are bothered by having a Frost Week.
Fourth-year computer engineering student Beck Yassa, says Frost Week will give her a chance to meet new people.
“I think it’s a good way to connect people and let them have some fun,” says Yassa. She believes the funding for Frost Week was used appropriately, since students can physically see their money to the YFS being put to work.
