Persistent Illumination

Unlesss they've been hiding under a rock in the Peter Russell rock garden, UW students know that the fate of the WPIRG is about to be decided in a referendum.

Or ... is it?

I don't think that it will be. In fact, I think that despite the outcome of the referendum, the situation will be almost the same in about six months from now. Consider the possible alternatives:

There is a binding "NO" vote:

The "Save WPIRG" effort will evaporate almost overnight, and the WPIRG will simmer down to its usual pre-David Suzuki level of activity. It has been noted by those who the WPIRG has approached in recent weeks that the question of "If the NO side wins, what will you do to avoid future referenda?" is one that has not been answered very well. Not much will be happening publicly. Thus, we will see the return of the older, less publicly visible WPIRG, only to be challenged again by a new wave of young Conservatives in about two years' time.

There is a binding "YES" vote:

The WPIRG will lose its $4.75 per-term funding, essentially tightening the noose on its current incarnation. The office will close. The WPIRG will move out of the SLC. Some groups will rise up to fill the social justice vacuum on campus - indeed, some already seem to have started. The recent proliferation of Feds clubs, especially those clubs concerned with helping the less fortunate, will likely play a key role in this transformation. The new "Dark Phoenix" WPIRG will be run by the Clubs and Services Director, muhahahaha....

Ahem. Aaaanyways....

However, the WPIRG has solid roots in the community. Also, they have always been driven more by passion than by practicality in the past. Someday, someone somewhere will figure out that the real WPIRG can exist (at least temporarily) without its student fee. It will rise like a Phoenix out of the ashes, supported by student sweat and fueled by such funding as many other not-for-profits use (consider the +$100K that WPIRG-splinter CACAQ secured from the Ontario Trillium Foundation). This new WPIRG will be held more closely accountable to those it is funded by. The WPIRG moves back onto campus and, driven by memories of past funding, will attempt to reclaim their fees. Then, like clockwork, a wave of young Conservatives will rise to the challenge, attempting to prevent their securing a student fee. Campus will be covered in posters, and future debate will return.

However, I accept that I may be incorrect about the last part of this prediction. If the YES vote succeeds, then the new incarnation of WPIRG may decide that it never, ever wants to move back to the UW campus. Why should it? Cheap rent and a student fee is good, but cheap rent and no student fee isn't as strong of an incentive, espcially with the biennial attempts at kicking them off of campus.