Looking for space? Try a college

Devin P. L. Edwards
Ccopy & Bulletin Editor
Truthfully, the Student Centre is nearly full.
Finding a table can be trying at certain times of day, and moving through the poorly designed pathways can be frustrating, especially when large groups have chosen to stop and chat in the middle. However, the issue is, at most, annoying.
That’s why I find myself asking, why is the York Federation of Students (YFS) proposing York channel millions of dollars into renovations for a building the YFS doesn’t own?
To be clear, the Student Centre and the YFS are not the same entity; they may increasingly seem like they are, but they’re actually separate autonomous functionaries serving the school and the student community.
I run two clubs: the University Heights Literary Society, and the Martial Arts Club. Both of these clubs have functioned perfectly well without either the yfs or the Student Centre. When we needed space, I took a look around campus, and asked some questions at the Student Community & Leadership Development (SC&LD) office. The SC&LD told me to ask around the vari- ous colleges at the master’s office, so I did.
In less than a day, I had found the perfect rooms for both these clubs. I asked Vanier’s permission, submitted the forms and have since been operating out of Vanier for a few years now. The Martial Arts Club has received funding from Vanier for safety equipment, and they even asked maintenance staff to build us a locker, which they did. I’ll admit Vanier has been good to us.
When I hear student clubs complain about space, I wonder if any of them have taken even a few hours to ask around. A few phone calls would solve that issue, but the YFS are instead proposing we throw money at a problem that doesn’t exist.
Are they out of their fucking minds?
Who is running this operation? Are you asleep?
Nevermind that, I’m sure most students look to the Student Centre for no other reason than its food court, and those annoyingly placed tables out front hawking goods.
Since the YFS seems incapable of coming up with solutions that don’t require millions of dollars, allow me to offer a few:
1.    Prioritize club space based on need instead of want. Some clubs have massive offices that leave me wondering what they could possibly be doing with that space.
2.    Realize every club may not need its own office, and instead offer dual-use offices with lockers so that multiple clubs can run out of a single room.
3.    Maintain a current listing of rooms around campus that are available for use by students and student clubs.
4.    Ask York what common spaces could be best used for various activities and distribute this information to student clubs.
5.    Investigate club use of space and rescind club space for groups that use their offices as private social lounges for the executive members.
6.    Turn the giant waste of space called the Underground beneath the Student Centre into club offices. Fewer people will get into fights, and how many students go there outside of Pub Night?
I work three jobs – count ‘em, three – to cover my rent, buy groceries and pay my tuition. The YFS, despite their hypocritical “drop fees” campaign to lower tuition, wants to pry more money out of my bleeding hands to cover grandiose plans like renovating the Student Centre.
Students don’t have millions of dollars, and if the YFS has enough money to renovate entire buildings, why aren’t they doing more to pay our tuition? It seems like several million dollars would go a long way.