Last call for campus pub
By Nick Olynyk
News Reporter
April 2, 2008
 • Money woes force Basement to close doors May 31
• UWSA says closure is in students' best interests, others call surprise shuttering, "sneaky" and "anti-democratic"
The UWSA Board of Directors has put out the last call at The Basement pub, which will close its doors May 31.
Although the pub is a separate corporation within the UWSA, the bar’s operating budget relies on an annual loan from the student association. If the pub cannot pay the UWSA back, the debt spills over to the student association, which has happened seven out of the last eight years.
The vote was made by the UWSA Board of Directors under the advisement of the UWSA executive.
The pub lost $80,000 last year and is in constant financial trouble. The student-run facility has never made more than $3,000 in profit since being renovated in 2001, said UWSA vice president of finance, Jennifer Collucci. In the pub’s second-best financial year it was seen as a break-even operation.
UWSA president, William Ma, says despite this year being one of the pub’s best, losing only $50,000, it is in student’s best interest to shut the bar down. He says that the pub is losing so much money that it is better to put a cork in active financial losses and keep paying off renovation debts than to remain open.
“Last year [the pub] was more of a service than a business ... it is not making money and actually [is] losing student’s money,” said Ma.
Ma says the pub cannot operate without the UWSA’s loan because it will not have the money necessary to function during the September startup period.
Many students are opposed to the bar closing. Faculty of arts and social science (FASS) representative Ryan Osterberg created a Facebook group--chalked full of controversial discussion - within 24 hours of hearing the news.
“I saw the Facebook group as a way to talk to students, get their feedback, find out what they were thinking about the whole issue. Plus, it is a way to inform them because the whole issue has been done quietly, said Osterberg. “My biggest point of contention is that [the UWSA] didn’t give students all of the facts. They didn’t give students all the information before they made their decision ... Until we know those reasons, it is hard for students to react.”
Osterberg says that the decision makers should realize that the pub goes beyond being a financial liability.
“I think if you look at a lot of university pubs around the country most of them do lose money. I think we have to decide as a student body whether we want a pub that makes money, or do we want the pub to be a service that the organization provides the students ... Do we value it enough that students are willing to pay for it because it is a service to us?”
Osterberg maintains that a point of contention is that students will no longer have a place on campus to host events once the pub closes. Law student, Andrew Langille, agrees but says students have to keep things in perspective.
“The pub needs to be shut down and it needs to be restructured, that is apparent to everybody. Above and beyond that, I think, long-term, there needs to be a student pub on campus, but the way it is right now, losing tens of thousands of dollars a year, it’s untenable,” said Langille, who added that decision makers went about the matter in an “anti-democratic” and “sneaky” manner.
This sentiment is echoed by Osterberg.
“I think we have to be careful of this because student council as a whole was not consulted. This was a decision made by the executive council and the Board of Directors.”
Ma argues that it is in students’ best interest to shut the pub down.
“It is essentially student’s fees going to the pub in the first place ... We want to provide for students instead of putting their money into something that will not be successful.”
It is unknown at this time what will become of the pub’s assets or space, said Ma, adding that full-time pub manager, Jason Codling, will receive a severance package.
“It’s unfortunate we had to do this. It was a difficult decision that was probably something that had to be done in terms of how students’ money are being used. Hopefully there are some other opportunities in the future that we can find for students in terms of having jobs on campus,” said Ma.
Osterberg hopes the UWSA is willing to reopen their ears to student opinion.
“I have talked to a number people, and I think at this point the best thing is to go to students and ask them what they want to do in the form of a survey or referendum,” said Osterberg. “I think some of the options might be for us to levy a small fee in the next couple of years to keep it running, so we have a chance to do some of the important restructuring that needs to be done to make it run more efficiently as an organization. We should be looking to outside experts.”
Langille says that if students are thirsting for change around campus they should keep their calendars open on April 10. “Students should go to [UWSA] AGM (Annual General Meeting) . . . that is the best way [to be heard].”
Money loaned to the pub comes from undergraduates’ pockets–approximately $8 per student a year.
Ma said, “I guess from this point basically ... it’s stop the sinking ship from sinking even faster. We’re trying to decrease the amount we are losing right now, and to find another way we can provide another service for students.”
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