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Kwantlen student union building still in the works

The KSA needs 200 students at annual general meeting Monday for project to move forward.
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The Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) will be discussing plans for a new student union building during its annual general meeting on Monday, and the group is asking hundreds of students to turn out.

KSA President Jessica Lar-Son said the KSA is tabling a resolution to choose a third-party sponsor to help finance the building, but 200 students need to be in attendance for it to pass.

That's just one per cent of the entire student body at all the four Metro Vancouver campuses.

The KSA has been planning for a student union building at Kwantlen Polytechnic University's Surrey campus at 12666 72 Ave. since 2009, when a funding fee of $2.90 per course credit was approved by students through a referendum.

Lar-Son said the new building will cost an estimated $15 million to construct and will be "100 per cent funded by the KSA."

The course credit fees will be used to pay back the sponsor's loan, and at this point, there is no projected increase to the fees, according Lar-Son.

She said Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) will not be helping to fund the building, but KPU is "on board and fully supports" the project.

As for students, Lar-Son said she hasn't seen any resistance to the proposed building or the fees. She added the KSA will be going back to students to make sure the building is what they want before construction gets underway – likely in the next few years.

The building will be situated near the campus on 126 Street between two parking lots.

Lar-Son said as someone who is graduating in the next few years, she wants a building that will benefit students 20 years down the road. She predicts it will have an "amazing impact" on student life.

Plans for the building include room for KSA offices, club spaces, businesses and food vendors.

The annual general meeting takes place March 30 at 1 p.m. at Kwantlen's Surrey campus in the Cedar building.

 



Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's national team, after my journalism career took me across B.C. since I was 19 years old.
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