Kingston, ON – Below are the results of the 2018 Special Referendum on JDUC Redevelopment held among SGPS members:

“Do you agree to the establishment of a mandatory, non-reviewable $40 fee to support the redevelopment of the John Deutsch University Centre, to be collected annually commencing in 2019-2020 academic year? Approval of this question will result in a University capital contribution of $20,000,000 and additional funding to cover financing costs.”

Choice Votes Percentage

Yes 1065 77.3%

No 312 22.7%

Abstain 79

Voter turnout: 33.7%

SGPS President Adam Grotsky made the following statement:

While the SGPS fee for JDUC redevelopment was successful, the AMS fee fell narrowly short.

The collection of the SGPS fee is contingent on the University’s capital contribution and project financing, as stated in the referendum question. Therefore, the SGPS will not collect this fee from students unless there is a path forward that retains the University’s contributions.

The SGPS is committed to working together with the AMS and University to determine how to proceed.

In any case, the SGPS results cannot be ignored.

Our campaign for JDUC redevelopment was fuelled by the need for graduate student community – and a space that will foster it.

Students spoke loud and the results are clear: graduate students need graduate space to strengthen the graduate experience. I look forward to working with the University to ensure that is made a reality.