I am a mature student at UNBC. I live south of town, 11 km from town centre. There is no bus service south of the bridges. I am told I will have to pay for this "service" which I have no access to.

Coming on top of the carbon tax I also have to pay, I think:
1. This is a bit sick. I know there are a lot of students who, like me, hav no access to bus service.
2. The people in the NUGGS "government" should be excellent candidates for real elections. They already have the self-surving tunnel vision most political types work hard to achieve....

I agree with Elanke about the forced dues for services a mature student has no interest or need for, and yet it almost doubles the cost of tuition when all is said and done. The socialism in the univesity fee structure prices a large portion of people out of the ability to fund the education the school is supposed to provide. Most students are now paying for their fees with debt, so most will likely vote for it because they don't realize the implications at their young age.

Why can't this kind of city package be optional for students that figure its a good deal for their needs? Why do others that can't use this service have to subsidize the out of town car less students with their limited education funds and then have to also pay their own way to school?

Eagleone, did you not read that the 2004 referendum resulted in the U-Pass being turned down? How could you possible assume that this year's outcome will likely be a result of young ignorance?

I voted against the U-Pass in 2004 because I too feel it should be an optional fee.

I do not swim and have no access to public transit, but would still have to pay. Those that use public transit are already paying less for transportation than I am, so why should I need to pay more so that they can pay even less?

I am on my way to vote NO right now.

A vote for the U-Pass is a vote for socialism.

I am not a student at UNBC, however I relate to this issue, as the university I attended brought in the UPASS while I was a student. I too am against the UPASS. I paid for this service while I stretched every penny, sank into debt, and also worked to get myself through school. I never did use the service, although I am aware a lot of other students did.

I wish you all luck in your UPASS referendum, however, be ware that most large universities already have this fee in place, so even if you vote no, you are probably just putting off the inevitable.

The main difference being, of course, that most large universities are part of a very efficient public transit schedule, and have facilities like a pool on campus.

If it's logical to accept that students shouldn't be paying for a service that they have "no interest or need for" then I should also be able to say no to paying the $55/semester intramural and recreation fee that UNBC charges everyone.

I've never used the UNBC recreational facilities/gym and yet I've been paying the fee for them all these years. I have my own exercise machine. I want a refund!!! To paraphrase one poster's post here - "Why should I subsidize the students who use the recreational facilities of UNBC?"

To paraphrase another post - "Paying for intramurals and recreation is paying for socialism!"

I would love nothing more than to be able to quit paying for all of the services at the university that I don't use. Unfortunately, only a possible future service is being voted on.

I am really disappointed in NUGSS for its role in this referendum. NUGSS has claimed neutrality on the issue, but it should not have even allowed the proposal to go forward for a non-optional fee.

C'est la vie.

I will vote yes to a mandatory U-pass because I do use bus transit.

Students not using the bus transit will now subsize my use of the bus transit in the same way that I'm subsidizing the use of recreational facilities by other students.

To be fair though to students who live in areas that are not serviced by bus transit, we should push for allowing these students to opt out. That's no different from students opting out of the health plan fee if you already have one.

And here's another against that "I have no interest nor need for the service so I shouldn't pay for it.":

I contribute over $1,500 to your IE and CP PER YEAR. Those are two services I'm not entitled to (note: "not entitled" over "not interested or needed") since I'm an international student.

I'm sorry, I can't muster enough sympathy for people complaining about a measly $48/semester when I've been subsidizing your IE and CP with thousands of my dollars so far.

And like I said before, it works both ways. I'm paying for UNBC services I don't use but which you use, so it averages to "fair enough" for you to be paying for services I can actually use.