Vote YES! to the Martlet‘s referendum to raise our student fee for the first time since 1999!
The UVSS voting period is March 4-6, 2026.
Read our Editor-in-Chief’s editorial here about why we are asking for a $2 increase to our student fee.
Our Question
Do you support increasing the student fee for UVic’s independent and fact-checked student newspaper, The Martlet, for the first time since 1999, by $2.00 per full-time student per term and $1.00 per part-time student per term, beginning in September 2026, to support the ongoing operations of independent student media on campus?
Our Platform
The Martlet is UVic’s independent, fact-checked and student-run newspaper. We have been reporting on all things UVic since 1948, and have been editorially and financially independent from the UVSS since the 1990s. Our mandates are to hold campus institutions, like the UVSS and UVic Administration accountable, provide free and fact checked local and campus news, and serve as a springboard for aspiring journalists at our university.
Our current funding of $3.75 per full-time student has remained stagnant for 26 years, significantly impacting our ability to fund student journalism jobs with fair wages, and produce frequent and free print publications. Since 1999, we have had to decrease from offering 36 paid student positions to 8, and reduce print publishing biweekly to monthly to remain financially viable and offer news for free. In addition to stagnant student fees, many sources of external funding for student newspapers that we have relied on to keep student fees low have dried up. Without this critical raise in our student fee, our ability to continue to operate as UVic’s independent student newspaper and create lucrative campus jobs will diminish rapidly.
We are asking for you to vote yes to a $2 increase to the Martlet’s student fee to support free independent student journalism on campus, create more, better-paid student jobs on campus, report on more stories relevant to our local communities, and ensure the longevity of independent student journalism at UVic.
Learn more on the UVSS Elections website here.
