Vote yes on the Martlet's referendum question!

Hi everyone, we are the Martlet, UVic's independent, fact-checked and student-run newspaper. We are 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.

This election period, we have a referendum question you can vote on:

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 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.

Our referendum question has been endorsed by the Gender Empowerment Centre, Native Students Union, Campus Community Garden, Society for Students with a Disability, and CFUV 101.9FM.

That is why 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.

We hope you will support us and vote yes!

Thanks 😄