What is the Referendum ?
The Carleton Student Engineering Society is asking all undergraduate engineering students at to vote to raise the current CSES levy from $19.00/semester to $35.00/semester for full time students, and to tie the levy to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) so that the levy keeps pace with inflation over time.
The referendum vote will occur through a secure electronic ballot between November 12th-13th. All fee-paying B.Eng students will be eligible to vote.
We’re currently in the referendum campaign period (October 27th – November 10th). For the next few weeks, the Yes Committee will be putting up posters, speaking with students on campus, and putting out a number of posts on our social media. Feel free to say hi if you see us around campus! We’re here to answer any questions you might have.
For more information, feel free to drop by the CSES Office (3390 Mackenzie Building) from 8:30am to 5:30pm Monday through Friday and chat with one of your program representatives, executives, or members of the Board of Directors.
Why is CSES Running a Referendum ?
The current levy isn’t enough to sustainably support CSES’ core initiatives or allow room for new programming. The CSES fee has not been significantly increased since the mid-1990s, and because it has never been tied to CPI, it hasn’t kept pace with inflation. Over the last few years, CSES was able to supplement their budget with surplus carried over from reduced programming during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this isn’t a resource that will be available long-term. CSES has already had to make the difficult decision to cut back on programming, and we hope that they are able to reverse these cuts and reinvest in students with your help. With this referendum, CSES will be able to fund a new academic mentorship program, increase financial support for final-year capstone projects, and return to the quality programming they have prided themselves on since 1979.