NOPIRG?
Some of you may have heard about the NOPIRG campaign that is being run.
We hope that you take the time to question why this campaign is being put forth, who is running it and what kinds of facts are being used!
To clarify any misconceptions we direct you to the following Q&A:
- Does the OPIRG Kingston Director actually make $30 000?
- Why should I pay money to someone else’s salary?
- What services are you talking about? I heard you only organize “highly divisive and partisan political campaigns” that I would never want to associate with.
- But you don’t have anything to do with students, do you?
- What does Opt-outable mean anyway?
- What about that divisive armour making workshop?
- What about this equalization payment business?
- But you’re still unaccountable with all that money, right?
- So why are people trying to shut you down?
Does the OPIRG Kingston Director actually make $30 000?
OPIRG Kingston pays our ONE staff member a wage that has been negotiated through the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). This wage includes taxable benefits such as health and dental care and amounts to less than $30 000. We believe it is important to pay employees a liveable wage and it would be difficult to argue that $30 000 provides far more than that.
Why should I pay money to someone else’s salary?
With the OPIRG fee, as it is opt-outable (unlike AMS mandatory fees which also go towards paying permanent non-student staff, who we love!), ultimately it’s up to you and whether or not you wish to continue seeing OPIRG provide the numerous invaluable services it offers to both Queen’s and Kingston. Without a staff person, OPIRG could not provide the quality or number of services it offers to students.
Additionally, students should note that OPIRG is not the only organization with paid non-student staff that collects an opt-outable student fee. OPIRG, like countless other non-profit organizations working towards a healthier community for all, including the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Dawn House Women’s Shelter, the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre Kingston, Reelout and more. These groups, like OPIRG, require full time staff to ensure their daily operations are maintained, including the provision of quality services and programming for their constituents.
If you believe that these services are unnecessary and that staff should not be paid out of your pocket, we would ask that you simply opt-out in September rather than vote no so that others still have the choice and ability to support us.
What services are you talking about? I heard you only organize “highly divisive and partisan political campaigns” that I would never want to associate with.
OPIRG offers consensus, facilitation, anti-oppression and anti-racism workshops to campus groups at no charge as they are run, designed and organized by our staff person. We work with you to design workshops that best fit your needs for your organization.
We also organize Rad Frosh, a series of orientation events for incoming and returning students, each year throughout September and October for which students pay no fees to attend.
Throughout the year we organize events such as the upcoming Activism 101 series, or Push It HipHop Festival in March. We seek to create spaces for students to engage with and contribute to the wider Kingston community.
We also provide training, resources and staff support to students and community members seeking to start their own working groups or put on their own events. For example, we assisted in the creation of the Sunnyside Community Garden and the Elm Street Community Garden, both current working groups of OPIRG Kingston.
Additionally, we offer funding to groups and organizations who fit within our mandate. We often also collaborate with groups like Reelout, HIV/AIDS Regional Services and the Kingston Arts Council.
Basically, we contribute to a broader climate of social and environmental justice through initiating new programming and supporting ongoing projects. Learn more about our initiatives on our website!
But you don’t have anything to do with students, do you?
Actually, our volunteer Board of Directors consists of a majority of undergraduate Queen’s students in addition to graduate students and community members at large. This board decides what the focus of the organization is and decides what projects we take on for the year. For example, this year’s board felt that it was important to continue discussions around mental health and decided to create a resource for Queen’s students specifically to talk to each other about seeking and providing support.
The majority of our events are held on campus though they are targeted both at students and community members. Additionally, our annual Rad Frosh series aims to act as a support for incoming and returning students and we’ve been doing it for 10 years!
What does Opt-outable mean anyway?
Lots of people get confused because the AMS does a poor job of explaining fees to students. In September you pay AMS mandatory fees, which you have no choice in, as well as Opt-outable fees, which you can say ‘no’ to paying. Opt-outable fees amount to less than $80 and all of these fees go directly to supporting student clubs, groups, projects or community organizations like HIV/AIDS Regional Services or the Kingston Youth Shelter.
Every 3 years, opt-outable fees must go to referendum according to AMS policy. At this time (Jan 31st & Feb 1st!), students vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to continuing the fee. Voting ‘yes’ doesn’t mean you’re actually paying it, it means you want the opportunity to. Voting ‘no’ means that you don’t ever want to pay that fee and you also don’t want any one else to either. Voting ‘no’ has meant the end of several campus publications and organizations in the past, to the detriment of our campus. Rather than voting ‘no’ to opt-outable fees, we encourage you to vote ‘yes’ and to opt-out in September should you not be able to or want to pay the fees.
What about that divisive armour making workshop?
The Armour Making Workshop was a part of a series of events organized by “Kingston Resists the G20”, one of our working groups, not our Board of Directors. This group of students and community members organized a month long series of events leading up to the G20 Summit protests in Toronto, designed to empower anyone intending to go to the protests with the knowledge and resources to stay safe. It included other workshops on street medic health and safety, know your rights, independent media and a panel on the affects of globalization and the G20.
What about this equalization payment business?
PIRGs or Public Interest Research Groups exist in provinces across the country. In Ontario there are 11. Of the 11, OPIRG Kingston has the smallest student fee at $4. We actually don’t give money to anyone else, rather the other PIRGs provide us with added financial support so that we can sustain our working groups, events and projects. We don’t give money to anyone, rather, the equalization payment exists to benefit us.
But you’re still unaccountable with all that money, right?
Considering you can choose to opt-out of our fee, we have a yearly audited financial report, we don’t run a deficit, we concentrate our resources into the Queen’s and Kingston community from which our support comes and decisions about where funds go are made by our elected board of directors which is comprised mostly of students, we’d say we’re just as if not more accountable than the AMS.
So why are people trying to shut you down?
If you haven’t heard, conservative minded folk don’t really like us, which is why we’re being attacked for being “unaccountable”, paying a “non student” and for being a “fringe group”, arguments which don’t make much sense or hold a lot of weight. You can learn more about the movement to defund PIRGs by reading this piece: http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2011/01/the-anti-pirg-campus-conservative-conspiracy/
Should you have any more questions, do not hesitate to contact us! info@opirgkingston.org
