SFU students grill administrators over proposed tuition increases, executive salaries

About 30 Simon Fraser University students expressed outrage and angerover proposed tuition hikes during a consultation with school administrators on Burnaby Mountain.

"You need to look us in the face and see how we live, how we work full time andgo to school full time," said one of the students."It's not enough for you to say that your hands are tied."

According to numbers presented by MartinPochurko, vice president of finance and administration, first year international students entering the business or engineering faculty next yearwill be paying 20 per cent and 16 per cent more respectively.

All other international undergraduate students are being hit with a four per cent across the board hike, while domestic studenttuition will go up the maximum allowable two per cent.

"What I'm concerned about is that every year tuition goes up," said fourth year political science student Andrea. "And what I'm really concerned about is that for international students, thisis unsustainable."

Pochurkosaid the increases are necessary to avoid a deficit of $15 million. He said even with raises, the university will still have ashortfall of $3.1 million in the 2019-2020 budget year.

"We do have a gap and we do need to solve it," he said.

A number of students highlighted alternatewaysthe school could make up the shortfall, including curtailing salary and benefits to administrators.

'Making more than the PM!'

One student received applause when he noted that a number of SFU administratorsearned more thanJustin Trudeau.

"The president is making more than the prime minister of Canada, c'mon," yelled third-year computer science student Giovanni HoSang.

According to the SFUTuition Freeze Now student group, SFU president Andrew Petter is set to earn approximately $523,000 in salary and expenses this year while another seven administrators and deans, including Pochurkoand Keller will earn well over $300,000.

The prime minister makes $347,000 a year.

There was more cheering when another studentsuggested school administrators take pay cuts equal to any tuition increases they bring in.

Vice President of Academic and Provost PeterKeller replied by saying SFUhas amongthe lowest administration costs of any university in Canada.

No cap on international tuition

He also saidinternational undergraduate students bear the brunt of the increases because their tuition increases aren't capped by the province.

"Domestic fees are frozen at twopercent and that really leaves internationalstudents as the only variable we can look at," he said.

That comment was little comfort to Jade Ho, a foreign PhD student in education who works three jobs to make ends meet.

Ho says SFU administrators are being disingenuous when they describe today's meeting as a "consultation."

"They do this every year and every single year students say we can't afford an increase but tuition keeps going up. They use a lot of abstract words like 'steps are being taken'or 'considerations are being made,' but when we ask what 'steps' or what 'considerations' we don't hear anything concrete," she said.

"What we really hope is the school hears us today and starts taking steps toward a tuition freeze."

Ho also questioned why SFUscheduled the consultation during the busy midterm season, something that she believes prevented many more students from attending.