The following question will be voted on by students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences ONLY:


Whereas the Dalhousie Arts and Social Sciences Society (DASSS), funded by the Arts Society Levy, represents all undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), and financially supports all undergraduate FASS societies;

Whereas undergraduate FASS societies aim to build communities of students within a department or a program, and perform functions such as publishing academic journals, hosting social events, and engaging in community initiatives;

Whereas the number of undergraduate FASS societies has grown from 11 to 15 in the past 2 years, and with more currently seeking recognition, the financial state of DASSS is becoming increasingly unsustainable without a corresponding increase in the Arts Society Levy;

Do you support a $2 per semester increase in the Arts Society Levy from $6 per semester to $8 per semester per full-time undergraduate Arts and Social Sciences student? 

Yes/No

The Dalhousie Arts and Social Sciences Society (DASSS) is the on campus society that represents all students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. In addition to organizing events relevant to all FASS students, DASSS serves as a forum for exchange between department and program based societies within the faculty, and is the primary voice for students with administration. Member societies provide and essential outlet for fostering student leadership, participation, comradery and culture within Dalhousie University.

As it stands, DASSS has the lowest levy within Dalhousie University.  With a higher than average amount of departments and programs and increasing interest and commitment from the FASS student body to represent their disciplines on the council, current funding to DASSS will be completely insufficient within 2 years. The decision to include program based societies (e.g. Italian Society, Russian Society), in addition to the standard department societies, on council has been wholly supported by the DASSS executive and council for many years.  However, as more societies become eligible for funding, the current DASSS budget will be crippled and unable to provide grant funding to societies and individual students for campus events, conferences, exchange programs and any other arts related initiative that benefits the arts community and culture. The purpose of this levy is to maintain DASSS as a continuingly reliable source of grant funding while keeping in step with increasing council societies and student participation.  In conclusion, this levy is designed to directly benefit FASS students for years to come.