Mental health services are essential. Graduate students rely on them, and we strongly support accessible, well-funded support systems on campus.
But supporting mental health does not mean we stop asking questions about cost.
In this referendum, graduate students are being asked to renew a Mental Health & Wellness Fee that results in us paying significantly more per capita than undergraduates for access to the same pool of campus services. When the services are shared, the funding model should make sense — and right now, many graduate students are questioning whether it does.
Other universities structure these fees differently. For example, at McMaster University, graduate and undergraduate students are not charged at different rates for comparable mental health services. That raises a reasonable question: why is our structure different?
This referendum is not about eliminating mental health support. It is about whether this specific fee represents fair value for graduate students.
Before voting, we encourage all graduate students to review the publicly available documents, examine the fee breakdown, and decide whether this renewal reflects equity and good value.
For source documents and updates, follow @fightthefee on Instagram or email fightthefee@icloud.com.
