Daily Publication Society fee renewal - YES
The Tribune encourages a "Yes" vote concerning the Daily Publication Society referendum. Undoubtedly, securing the continuing fiscal existence of our neighbours downstairs is essential to preserving a diverse campus press, as well as honouring the legacy of the 97-year old paper. That being said, the campaigning by the "Yes Committee" has been marked by half-truths, electioneering and misleading information regarding the publication society's constitution.
Nobody is explicitly targeting the Daily or le Délit, contrary to what the committe would have students believe-rather, they simply need a renewed mandate from students in order to sign a new Memorandum of Agreement with the University. Such mandates are routine matters for independent clubs and services. Indeed, even the Daily's most vehement critics (see dailywatch.blogspot.com) support the fee renewal. Further, the Daily should not be the only major on-campus fee that is not opt-outable. QPIRG, the Midnight Kitchen, CKUT and the Tribune all accept the accountability that comes with accepting student funds. In 2004, when students tried to make the hefty DPS fee optional, the papers fought tooth and nail to avoid such a situation, even taking the question to J-Board and getting the results sealed on a technicality. As of now students cannot opt-out of the Daily's $5 per semester fee, or even vote to lower the paper's fee.
Coordinating editor Drew Nelles has told both the Montreal Gazette and the Mirror that students can theoretically organize a referendum to address any potential problems with the paper, but this is not actually the case. The Daily's constitution autocratically states that questions regarding lowering the Daily fee or even make it opt-outable are "inadmissible." Further, the Daily has not been our independent student paper since 1911. Rather, they secured independence from SSMU in 1981. Despite these factual oversights and distortions on the part of the Yes committee, a "No" vote would seriously jeopardize the continued existence of the Daily and le Délit and imperil our diverse campus media-a wholly undesirable
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