Student Affordability Coalition

JUST SAY NO!
A bold, oversized ballot marked with a thick, red “NO” sits on a clean white desktop scattered with neatly stacked textbooks labeled “Rent,” “Food,” and “Tuition.” A sleek laptop in the background displays a minimal bar chart where a rising red bar labeled “Fees” towers above others. Bright, diffused daylight from an unseen window washes across the scene, creating crisp shadows and a high-contrast, energetic atmosphere. Shot at eye level in photographic realism, with shallow depth of field keeping the ballot in razor-sharp focus and the background softly blurred. The mood is urgent and determined, visually conveying a clear financial choice without any human presence, ideal for a campaign hero image.

WE WON!

Despite the lies the Student Union and the Newspaper threw our way. Despite the fact that they spent thousands of dollars to mislead students. Despite it all, Students Won!

We Successfully Defeated Referendum Number 2! We have sent a message to the AMS. Students are not your piggy bank; you must fix your own budget before you steal from students.

A WASTE OF MONEY

The AMS wastes tens of thousands of dollars of student money. Don’t let them take even more. Check out just how they do it:

Learn more
A close-up of a transparent glass jar labeled “Student Budget” in bold black lettering, nearly filled with coins and a few crumpled bills. Two smaller jars behind it, one labeled “New Fees” and nearly empty, the other labeled “Food” with modest contents, rest on a light wood desk. In the blurred background, a bulletin board pinned with colorful campus flyers and a printed “Vote NO” sign adds context. Soft overcast window light creates gentle reflections on the glass and subtle metallic highlights on the coins. Photographic realism with a slightly elevated angle and shallow depth of field emphasizes the main jar, conveying a serious yet relatable sense of financial strain and prioritization.

Defeated Fee Hikes

MARCH 2016

AMS General Fee Hike Defeated.
Students voted down a proposed $4.20 increase to general AMS fees. Despite the AMS warning that the society would face a $400,000 deficit the following year without the funds, the student body firmly rejected the measure, proving that the union must learn to balance its budget without constantly returning to students for a bailout.

MARCH 2023

AUS Food Hub Fee Defeated.
Even well-intentioned fees can be stopped when students decide they cannot take on additional financial burdens. The Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) proposed a $1 fee to support a new food hub, but the referendum failed. Proving that students dislike all forms of fee hikes.

April 2025

AUS Fee Hike Defeated
Following the trend of rejecting unnecessary financial burdens, Arts students successfully organized to defeat the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) fee hike last year. This back-to-back victory proved that grassroots, faculty-level pushback works when students stand united.

MARCH 2018

Omnibus Fee Increase Defeated
The AMS attempted to pass a massive fee increase that would have raised a student fee from $3.63 to $7. The proposal, packed together, changes to several fee structures all at once. Students organized against the lack of transparency and inadequate consultation. After significant backlash, students successfully defeated the fee hike.

September 2024

The Student Affordability Coalition is Founded
Recognizing the growing cost-of-living crisis and the frequency of fee hikes, students came together to officially form the Student Affordability Coalition. To protect the student body from financial attacks and demand budgetary accountability from the AMS.

March 2026

The Coalition Mobilizes
The Student Affordability Coalition officially launches our JUST SAY NO Campaign to stop the 2026 fee hikes. We are building a campus-wide movement to demand that the AMS reallocate its multi-million dollar budget instead of taxing students during a cost-of-living crisis.

MARCH 2022

Bike Kitchen Fee Hike Defeated.
A referendum was put forward to increase the Bike Kitchen’s student fee from $1.14 to $5 to cover a $30,000 deficit, but the student body pushed back. The referendum failed, proving that students will not simply rubber-stamp fee hikes to bail out mismanagement. The defeat allowed the org to reassess its budget and seek alternative, internal funding instead of relying on a new student tax.

MARCH 2025

AMS Fee Increase Defeated.
Last year, the AMS attempted to pass a general fee increase on the student body. Students organized, mobilized, and defeated the measure at the ballot box, with 53.4% voting NO. Because of strong student pushback, it was the only AMS-proposed referendum that failed that year.

MARCH 9 – 13, 2026

Vote NO on the Ballot
The official AMS voting period opens. Continue the legacy of students standing up for affordability. Log in to the AMS voting portal and VOTE NO on the Student Services and Clubs Benefit fee increases.