The University of Waterloo Federation of Students represents 20,047 full-time undergraduate students and 2,194 part-time students at the University of Waterloo. They market themselves on-campus as the Feds. They have an office in the University's Student Life Centre, and has nearly 20 full-time staff members.

Government

The Federation is headed by a four-member executive, which includes the President, Vice-President Internal, Vice-President Administration and Finance, and Vice-President Education. These positions are elected by a vote of all Federation members in February of each year.

An elected Students' Council holds most of the decision-making power in the Federation. These students are elected by the students in each Faculty, although the School of Architecture (a part of the Faculty of Engineering) elects its representatives seperately. These students serve one-year terms.

Services

The Federation runs a round-trip weekend bus service to Hamilton, London and Toronto, which it calls the Fed Bus. The Fed Bus also takes occasional trips to Ottawa. It also runs a service that matches first-year students living off-campus with an upper-year 'don', an on-campus food bank, and a legal resource office.

Bars and pubs

The Federation operates the Bombshelter Pub, located in the Student Life Centre, as well as Federation Hall, the largest campus nightclub in North America. Until 2004, they also operated Ground Zero, a restaurant in the Student Life Centre. The space now operates a Tim Horton's, operated by the university's Food Services. The Federation receives money from Food Services each year for the use of the space.

Until the fall of 2004, Federation Hall was subsidized by a student fee. The fee was collected to cover mortgage payments for the building, with the remainder going to subsidize operations. This subsidy averaged $80,000 in the decade until the fee was terminated. [1]

Liquor dispute

In January of 2003, administration at the university took control of, and eventually ordered closed, the liquor-serving establishments operated by the Federation in response to fights and a beating that took place following a New Years' party at Federation Hall. In response, the Federation sued the university in March of that year for $11 million, claiming the university had breached a long-standing contract. [2] The lawsuit was eventually settled and the bars reopened in June.

Clubs

The Federation is the only entity with the power to recognize the majority of clubs on campus. They supervise and fund more than 100 student clubs. [3] Clubs must have a Federation-approved constitution, submit to financial review by the Federation, and restrict full membership to members of the Federation, among other restrictions. In return, clubs receive up to $50 per 4-month term in funding, the right to use the name "University of Waterloo," the right to book rooms on campus, and the right to have a presence at Clubs days, an opportunity to recruit new members at the beginning of each term.

ESA Suspension

In October of 2004, the Federation suspended the Embassy Students' Association (ESA), a club on campus. The Federation provided a list of infractions, including failing to conform to financial procedures: the ESA was using a seperate bank account rather than submitting its funds to the Federation; the Federation asserted it was unaware that money was being collected at ESA events. The Federation also felt that the ESA was simply a front used by a local church, 'The Embassy', to access to reduced rental fees on the Federation's night club, Federation Hall. In its defense, the ESA stated, among other things, that the Federation had, in the past, encouraged them to operate this way, and ought reasonably to have known that they were collecting money, as they had been doing so at Federation Hall, a Federation-operated establishment, for several years. The club was eventually reinstated at the end of the term, though it did not resume meeting at Federation Hall. The club was active early in 2005, but was dissolved by the Federation in April of that year over a debt issue with the university.

Student participation

In recent years, student participation in the activities of the Federation has declined significantly. Voting in executive elections has seen a downward trend from a high of more than 60% to approximately 15% of student members. [4] Seats for Students' Council are more often than not filled by acclamation, if at all. Many students believe that the Federation does not do an effective job of communicating with its members. Large portions of its website are out of date.

In the previous election, more than half of the candidates listed communication as a major issue facing the Federation. [5] Large portions of its website are out of date.

Representation

The Federation is a founding member of the Canadian Alliance of Students Associations (CASA), which represents them federally. Provincially they participate in the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance. Prior to 1993, the Federation was a member of the Canadian Federation of Students. At that time, the Federation held a referendum in which 75% of its students voted to leave CFS. However, CFS contested the results of the referendum, claiming improprieties. More than three years later, CFS reversed its position and chose to ratify the results of the referendum, and the Federation was allowed to defederate from CFS. [6]

In 2003, The Federation held a referendum to determine if members were in favour of remaining in CASA. The result was close and non-binding, with less than 4 per cent of students voting. [7] In the end, the Federation chose to remain in CASA.

External links

• Official Site
• Campus Newspaper
• University Site
• Embassy Students Association Press Release, October 12 2004