How our Money is spent

Where’s the Money??

This page breaks down just how the AMS has wasted student money this year.

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.

A dramatic split-screen style composition in a single photographic image: on the left, a neat stack of textbooks and a transit pass atop a simple notebook labeled “Essentials,” and on the right, a printed sheet titled “New AMS Fee Hikes” with bold red arrows pointing upward next to larger price tags. Both halves share the same light wood tabletop, with a crisp diagonal shadow dividing them. Bright, directional daylight from the side creates strong contrast and defined edges, amplifying the tension between choices. Photorealistic, shot from a slightly elevated angle with sharp focus across the frame. The atmosphere is bold and analytical, visually underscoring the trade-off between affordability and rising student union fees.

$40,000 catering Budget

Why are students funding executive perks during a cost-of-living crisis?

The AMS is asking you to pay a brand new $5 Student Services Fee, claiming they are entirely out of money to support essential services like the Food Bank. At the same time, they want another $4 Clubs Benefit Fee to bail out their own room booking system delays.

But a look directly into the 2025/2026 AMS budget ledgers reveals a completely different story. While the AMS runs a projected $350,000 deficit, they still found room to allocate over $40,000 of student money exclusively for their own internal perks:

$14,940 explicitly earmarked for catered food and refreshments at their own council and advisory board meetings.
$16,335 scattered across executive portfolios solely for internal “staff appreciation” and social events.
$9,000 for closed-door executive retreats and team-building exercises.

They are asking students who rely on the Food Bank to subsidize their catering budget.

The AMS does not need a new tax to keep student services alive. They need to stop treating the student body like a bottomless ATM and start managing their multi-million dollar budget responsibly. It is time for student leadership to lead by example and reallocate their own perks before passing the buck to you.

THE $65,500 party

While you pay more for basics, they are throwing themselves a party.

The AMS is relying on guilt to steal our money. They are telling UBC students that the cupboards are bare, that the Food Bank is starving, and that the only way to save essential student services is to accept a permanent Fee increase.

But while they are asking struggling students for a bailout, they are quietly funding their own luxury events.

A deep dive into the Executive Committee’s 2025/2026 internal budget reveals a classic “let them eat cake” moment. The AMS has allocated an astonishing $65,500 of student money for a single-night “Awards Night” gala to congratulate themselves. Here are the exact budget lines:

$60,000 allocated for gala “Programming Expenses.”
$5,500 allocated just to rent their own Great Hall venue

The AMS is not out of money. They are choosing to prioritize a $65,000 party over baseline club funding and food security. They want you to absorb the cost of their financial mismanagement during a severe cost-of-living crisis so they don’t have to cut their own gala budget.

Don’t let them tax you to fund their parties. Cancel the gala, fund the Food Bank, and protect your wallet. Vote NO to a Fee Increase

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.

THE $61,000 LEGAL BILL

You are not a blank cheque for their internal mismanagement.

When the AMS demands a new Fee, they claim there is simply no more room in the budget to fund essential services. But when the AMS mismanages its own internal affairs, they suddenly find tens of thousands of dollars to cover the fallout.

According to the Student Council Operational Expenses ledger, the AMS consistently budgets $30,000 a year for “Legal Fees”. But last year, they completely blew past that cap. The 2024/25 Draft Actuals reveal that the student union spent a staggering $61,802 on lawyers.

Here are the facts

Budgeted Legal Fees (2024/25): $30,000
Actual Legal Fees Spent (2024/25): $61,802

That is an overspend of nearly $32,000 in a single year, money that could have immediately been injected into the Food Bank or used to stabilize club funding. Instead, it went to a corporate law firm to clean up administrative messes.

Students should not have to pay a brand new tax just because the AMS can’t manage its legal risks. If they want to save student services, they need to clean up their own operations first. We refuse to bail out their incompetence.

VOTE NO TO A FEE INCREASE