My first thought, when I learned of the current financial situation of the Graduate Students’ Union, was ‘Not again.’
Then I remembered that the GSU, like many other organizations, has been in, and out, of debt for much of its history.
And while the history of the GSU’s debt in the late ‘90’s may be buried in papers collecting dust in Feild Hall, I remember when the union sold the original Grad House downtown and signed the long-term lease of Feild Hall … and how that turned out.
At that time, the GSU Board’s intention was to make the organization much more visible on Memorial’s St. John’s campus, and thus be better able to serve the growing number of graduate students.
The terms of the lease between the university and the GSU included significant renovations to the building at the GSU’s expense. The renovation plans included the creation of graduate student housing and Bitters pub, both of which were to eventually generate additional revenue for the GSU.
Thus, the GSU began spending the proceeds from the sale of the Grad House, and then some, to renovate Feild Hall.
Unfortunately, this endeavour was, in my opinion, poorly managed, and ultimately plunged the GSU into debt. By the time Feild Hall reopened its doors, the GSU’s accounts were near empty, and the organization was in debt to the university and the bank for more than $100,000.
When I joined the GSU Board as a departmental representative that fall, I investigated the debt situation. I asked a lot of questions and reviewed what records were available to me. In the end, I did not discover some hidden financial malfeasance on behalf of any members of the GSU Board.
Rather I learned that there were few financial controls with respect to who, within the organization, was authorized to make decisions, including approving expenditures related to the renovations and the creation of Bitters.
In the end, I concluded that the entire debacle was the result of inexperience, exuberance, and an unfettered vision of how outstanding the GSU’s new facilities would be, as no expense was being spared.
The following spring, I joined the GSU Executive and decided to put the turbulence of the recent past behind us so we could focus our efforts on three key roles: Advocacy, services, and restoring financial solvency for Memorial’s graduate students’ association.
There was one aspect of the graduate student experience, however, to which I limited my involvement and that was the growing call for collective representation of graduate student teaching assistants.
While I, as a TA myself, agreed that we needed coordinated efforts to improve the working conditions of TAs, I also thought that there needed to be a separation between the overall graduate student life at Memorial and graduate student work.
In my opinion, we needed to maintain a line between the work the GSU did on behalf of all graduate students and the need to represent and negotiate for those grad students who also happened to be teaching assistants and research assistants.
And despite “union” being in its name, I tried to lead the GSU as an association representing and serving all graduate students at Memorial and not a labour union representing graduate student workers.
In fact, more than once I suggested changing the GSU to the Graduate Students’ Association of Memorial University, in order to clarify this separation.
While I tried to provide support, encouragement, direction, and advice to the graduate students who were laying the groundwork for TAUMUN, I focused my efforts on advocacy and services for all graduate students at Memorial, and getting the GSU out of debt.
During this time, our advocacy work brought about student course evaluations, the proposal for a University Ombudsperson, which unfortunately failed to pass, enhanced health and dental coverage for graduate students, and the Graduate Research Integrity Program (GRIP).
We also negotiated increased funding for historically under-funded graduate programs, and graduate student travel for research and conferences.
On the services side, we restructured our operations board, which focused our efforts on potential revenue generation from our businesses in Feild Hall.
We invested in our student housing facilities, graduate workspaces, and Bitters pub, which lead to a full residence upstairs, and our pub becoming the premiere destination for a working lunch on Memorial’s campus.
We also negotiated revised terms for the Student Development Fund, the origin of which is an entire story to itself, that included an agreement that balanced long-term debt repayment to the university and investment in graduate student life.
The rest of our executive team’s time was spent restructuring our finances so that the GSU could continue providing effective advocacy and sustainable services to our membership and reducing our debt.
When we were unsure about how to best achieve our goals, we consulted with, and learned from, those who knew more about such matters than we did. Being surrounded by experts is one of the benefits of being part of a university community, and we took full advantage of this fact.
And while the GSU debt we inherited in 1998 was not fully resolved when I stepped down from the GSU in 2001, we had made a significant dent in it. Two years later, while I was working up the hill, I received a phone call from the GSU’s General Manager, who informed me that the measures, which we had put in place five years earlier, had finally led to the GSU becoming debt-free once again.
I’m sharing these memories with you because I think that knowing the GSU’s history can help to put its future into perspective. Yes, the GSU is in debt again, but the creation and implementation of sound financial measures can lead the organization out of debt.
It has been done before. This should be the focus of the current GSU Board and those to come. Figure it out. Learn from those who know how to achieve this goal. Put measures in place and adhere to them.
Most importantly, as I learned back then, accept that the efforts you make now will mostly benefit those who have yet to arrive. The GSU is more than any one of us and must continue to represent all Memorial’s graduate students, those there now, and those who will come.
Yes, the GSU may be an imperfect association, and it has a history of financial mismanagement, but it is, in my opinion, still worth keeping.
Just fix it again.
Lastly, I suggest that TAUMUN remain focused on the distinct needs of its membership, and I encourage its current leadership to support the entity from which it emerged.
Lend your power to the GSU to help lift it back up, rather than giving it the boot.
I wish you all the very best during this challenging time. Perhaps there will be a time when I share my memories of the many times MUNSU was in debt.
Launch forth,
Darren S. Newton, MA Sociology, and President of the GSU from 1999-2001
