Kwantlen Students Vote to Remain Members of the Canadian Federation of Students
MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Surrey, BC — Kwantlen University College students have voted in favour of remaining members of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), Canada's largest national student organisation. Following several weeks of vigorous campaigning by supporters of both sides, 56% of Kwantlen students voted in favour of maintaining membership in the CFS, while 44% of students voted in favour of leaving the CFS. In total, 1665 students cast ballots in the referendum, which was held on April 18 – 20; this represents 13.3% of the total number of students enrolled at the University College.
"It is time for us to move forward," said Nathan Griffiths, Chairperson of the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA). "Students have voted to remain members of the Canadian Federation of Students, and the KSA is fully committed to respecting this democratic decision. We will ensure that Kwantlen students make the most from their membership in the CFS.
"At the same time, we are conscious of the fact that a strong minority of Kwantlen students voted to leave the CFS. I believe that this is a mandate for the KSA to work within the CFS to make the CFS a more democratic, transparent, and accountable organisation. In addition, the KSA will continue to work with non-Federation member student associations, particularly our closest neighbours, the UCFV Student Union Society and the Simon Fraser Student Society."
The Canadian Federation of Students was formed in 1981, and the Kwantlen Student Association was a founding member of the CFS. The CFS currently represents over 500,000 students from over 80 student associations across Canada.
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The Kwantlen University College Student Association represents over 12,500 students enrolled at the four Greater Vancouver campuses of Kwantlen University College.
For more information, please contact:
Nathan Griffiths, Chairperson and Director of Operations
604-779-7499 (cell) or ops@kusa.ca (email)
Titus Gregory, Policy Analyst
778-869-9717 (cell) or titus.gregory@kusa.ca (email)