REFERENDA QUESTIONS
The following questions will be taken to the Spring 2026 Election ballot for vote by the TCSA membership. If you would like to register a referendum committee in support or against any one of these questions, please contact elections@trentcentral.ca by February 25th, 2026, at noon. Public debate of the questions will be held at the Meet the Candidates event on March 12th, 2026, at 5 pm in the TSC Event Space.
Trent Muslim Student Association (TMSA)
Question: Do you support the establishment of an annual $2 (refundable) levy fee to support the activities of the Trent Muslim Student Association (TMSA)?
The Levy fee is being requested due to the rise of the Muslim population at Trent University. There is a high demand for community growth/events to support Muslims students spiritually and aid in food insecurity during Ramadan. The TMSA has been developing many projects to create a more inclusive space, such as creating prayer and congregation spaces, an ablution room, and holding multiple Iftars during Ramadan for international and domestic students that are away from home looking for a warm community.
Trent Rowing
Question: "Do you support the creation of an annual $5 refundable levy fee for Trent University Rowing to sustain and grow its athletic community?"
The Trent University Rowing Team is seeking a $5 per year, fully refundable levy to sustain and grow one of Trent’s longest-standing and most successful athletic communities.
For years, Trent Rowing has proudly represented our university at local, provincial, and national levels, creating a strong sense of community and school pride. Unfortunately, following the cancellation of our annual beer garden — which previously funded nearly 80% of our operating budget — we have lost our primary source of income. Without alternative funding, our ability to maintain safe equipment, support our athletes, and continue offering rowing as an accessible sport for all students is at risk.
Rowing at Trent is one of the few sports that welcomes complete beginners, allowing students with no prior experience to join and develop into competitive athletes. This levy would directly fund:
New and safe equipment, ensuring accessibility and safety for all members.
Reduced novice fees, lowering financial barriers and expanding opportunities for students to participate.
Campus-wide events to engage the broader Trent community — including free entry 5K fun runs, open “Try Rowing” days, charity fundraisers, and other initiatives in tandem with other student groups.
Beyond athletics, the Trent Rowing Team has a strong tradition of giving back. Each year, we organize fundraisers for local charities and community volunteer initiatives. With your support, we can continue and expand these efforts while building school spirit and inclusivity through sport.
Supporting this levy means investing in accessibility, health, and community. Together, we can keep rowing strong at Trent and create opportunities for everyone to be part of it.
Sadlier House (P.R. Community & Student Association)
Question: Do you support an increase to Sadleir House's non-refundable levy fee from $35.41 to $50 annually?
Sadleir House is pursuing a $14.59 levy increase, moving us from $35.41 to $50 annually. Since the pandemic, Sadleir House has strengthened it’s relationship with the Trent student body. We currently float ~20% year over year of the undergraduate population as active registered users. We provide study, meeting, audio-visual, and performance spaces to Trent undergraduate (and graduate) students with no fee for service.
Sadleir House sponsors over a thousand hours of student-organized programming year over year. These are not just bookings; they are mentorship meetings with staff, technical training, and building material connections between students and experts in their fields of interest in the wider Peterborough community. We also provide many QOL incentives for students in house including free direct trade coffee and tea, free printing, free period products, free condoms, free bookable study nooks, as well as stocked podcast and video live stream studio, free rehearsal space for Trent music groups, free film screenings, as well as the opportunity to attend student led theatre, music, and extracurricular academic events through the John K Muir Memorial Dining Hall. Sadleir House also provides heavily subsidized office space for many of Trent’s oldest and most visible groups.
As we get generally more popular, our costs for consumable goods have risen dramatically, and our student staff capacity for keeping up with the space bookings, the basic maintenance, and the around-the-house questions is becoming tricky. This is happening alongside a general need and ask from our users for more operational hours, more weekend availability, and extra extended hours during exam season. In short, we need to hire more students, and we need to buy more stuff, and we need to keep up with the regular (but significant) maintenance requirements on a 134-year-old Victorian mansion/student community centre that is seeing more and more use year over year. This increase to a clean $50/student annually is an important piece of the continuing sustainability (20+ years in the black!) of our nationally unique youth and student centre. Here’s to 20 more years!
If you are interested in submitting a referendum question for Spring 2027, please read our Referendum FAQ below or contact boardresource@trentcentral.ca for consideration.