The VIU Students' Union and its Board of Directors have approved, allowing Radio Malaspina Society, the organization that operates CHLY 101.7FM to hold a fee referendum for VIU students to consider. The VIU Students' Union is responsible for administering the referendum on behalf of Radio Malaspina Society, with voting taking place online on October 8, 9 and 10, 2024.

To help you make an informed decision, we encourage you to review the rationale below which was provided by CHLY and considered by the board of directors prior to approving the referendum.

CHLY Submitted Referendum Information:

CHLY 101.7FM broadcasts an eclectic mix of curated independent music from the Salish Sea region, as well as from across Canada, and around the globe. We also feature local news, local perspectives, and curated syndicated programming not heard on other stations in Nanaimo and surrounding communities in our region. Our organization has existed since December 3rd, 1997, and have been broadcasting since October 5th, 2001. We are a member of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), which serves to advocate for our sector in Ottawa, and also members of the Community Radio Fund of Canada (CRFC). Much of our program is created by VIU students!

Comparable campus stations like CIVL 101.7FM at the University of the Frazer Valley (UFV) in Abbotsford, operate on a core student budget of approximately $200,000 per year. CFUR at UNBC operates on a similar budget to CHLY of approximately $75,000 but with a much smaller student body. These two stations also benefit from being an on-campus station, which helps to reduce operational overhead, and increases student participation.

Other campus stations like CiTR at UBC, or CJSF at SFU operate on even larger budgets than CIVL due to their larger student bodies, while CFUV at UVIC operates at a similar funding level as CIVL. These stations at larger campuses do have smaller per-year fees, but the core operating costs necessary to operate a campus station do not shrink.

CIVL, CiTR, CJSF, and CFUV all benefit from having at least some experienced full-time staff to keep their organizations stable over the years to work with their student members and campuses.

A fee increase would do the following:

• It would afford us the resources to hire part-time students to coordinate our student collectives for the further creation of student-led on-air programming. An increase in our budget would also allow us to have the cash flow to take advantage of “pay-first reimburse later” wage subsidy grants from the Federal government that could provide $5000 to $7000 for paid internships and co-op positions through Work Integrated Learning at VIU.

• The required financial resources are needed to maintain at least some full-time staffing to ensure long-term organizational stability to benefit students and the campus. These resources would also support the further development of our campus-associated on-air programming which students and faculty would participate in, benefiting students through knowledge mobilization of their studies in the context of audio for broadcast and podcast.

• Finally, it would give them the resources necessary to afford the associated capital costs of relocating to campus, a move which would increase student and campus participation.

QUESTION : Incremental increase of student fee for the Radio Malaspina Society

Whereas The Radio Malaspina Society (operating CHLY 101.7FM) seeks to provide VIU students opportunities for knowledge mobilization, quality student employment and work-integrated learning opportunities;

Whereas CHLY 101.7FM, VIU student's campus radio station is underfunded when compared to comparable campus stations in British Columbia;

Whereas The Radio Malaspina Society seeks to relocate CHLY-FM to the Nanaimo campus of VIU to better serve its Student Members and the campus;

Therefore:

Be it resolved that the student fee for the Radio Malaspina Society be incrementally increased by .63¢ for three years from $1.13 to $3.01, and that the eventual $3.01 fee be pegged to the CPI.

• Yes, I support the fee increase.

• No, I do not support the fee increase.

For more information contact: elections@viusu.ca