Sadly, there will be no financial equalisation
Voting ended on Friday, March 24th, 2023. The initiative was rejected with 40.4% YES and 58.6% NO votes, with a voter turnout of roughly 21%. Sadly, there will be no improvement of the financial situation of small student committees.
We still want to thank everyone who voted YES for their support!
We need your help!
The board of the Student Association Anthropology takes a stand for a campus where diverse and varied events are welcomed. Most student committees don't have the funds for organising lively events, though. To change this, please inform yourself and vote YES for financial equalisation in the “FG-Finanzausgleich” skuba ballot!
The vote is on! How do I vote?
Until Friday, March 24 at 11:59pm, you can cast your votes. It's very easy and only takes two minutes:
- Open the email from the skuba dated March 9 with the subject “Persönliche Zugangsdaten für die Urabstimmung zum FG-Finanzausgleich” in your university email account.
- The email is in German only but you can't miss your personal PIN. Copy and paste this code into univote.ch/urabstimmung2023.
- We suggest you vote YES, together with many other student committees
- Please mobilise your peers! The opponents are running ads online and mobilise enourmosly against smaller student committees organising more events. Every YES vote counts!
- Look forward to all the new events that will be made possible through the “Finanzausgleich“ financial equalisation scheme!
Note to English speakers
Regrettably, most information regarding this ballot is only available in German. Especially the “Abstimmungsbüchlein” flyer (PDF) is not translated, which is the central document describing the pro and contra argumentation as well as the actually proposed changes. So, if you have any questions that are not answered on this page, please don't hesitate to contact us!
What is it?
Supporting events organised by smaller student committees!
The skuba, the highest body representing all students at our university, took the initiative to implement a new tool for funding smaller student committees that need more money to organise diverse, and lively events on our campus. You can find more information in the info mail, in the “Abstimmungsbüchlein” flyer (PDF), and on the webpage of the skuba's campaign.
Why a university-wide ballot?
The proposal was accepted by a sweeping majority in the student's council (“Studierendenrat”). Nevertheless, 4 of the richest student committee's (of 47 student committees represented by the skuba) did not want to accept the result. They started a referendum campaign and demanded a university-wide ballot to be held.
The skuba recommends voting YES for financial equalisation.
University-wide ballot for financial equalisation of student committees
You can find arguments and the full proposal in the official “Abstimmungsbüchlein” flyer, which is currently only available in German.
Abstimmungsbüchlein (PDF)How does it matter for me?
All students pay a half-yearly contribution to the skuba, together with the regular tuition fees. Only a fraction of this money actually reaches our students, while a lot of it ends up on savings accounts of rich students committees. This initiative aims to change this.
We from the board of the Student Association Anthropology volunteer our time for you because our fellow students and our faculty are important to us. With your YES to financial equalisation you give us the opportunity to finally organise more events for you, and fully cover the costs.
How does it matter for my subject?
Study programs with few students (such as Anthropology) have so far received 200 Swiss francs per semester – this is so little that we have already had to cancel events such as museum visits because of the entrance fees. For financial reasons, we have to reject ideas for any larger events or even invitations from the outset.
If the “Finanzausgleich” financial equalization initiative is accepted, we will receive financial support from the skuba and can finally do more for a sociable, beautiful, and lively campus – without having to watch every penny.
What can I do?
Go and vote!
Of course we hope that you will join us and vote YES. Regardless of your decision, our university's democracy hinges on your votes. We call on all students to cast their vote online (March 20th through 24th). More information regarding the voting procedures is available at the webpage of the skuba.
Mobilise your fellow students!
The opponents of the financial equalisation scheme are a tiny, but very loud minority of student committees. To overcome them, our strength lies in our interconnectedness: just as the financial equalisation is meant to strengthen the pluralism of study programs on our campus, we rely on the pluralism of our students to reach each and everyone. Please call on your friends and colleagues to make their voice heard!
Vote online
The ballot is held primarily online: all students received an email from the skuba on March 9th, containing your personal PIN code for voting.
Vote on Univote.chWhat is the stance of the Student Association Anthropology?
The board says YES to financial equalisation. In our understanding, the “Finanzausgleich” leads to an improvement of the financial situation of small student committees, while large student committees have neither advantages nor disadvantages from it.
We have the impression that the opponents of the “Finanzausgleich” are guided by the fear that their existing privileges could be diminished if the full diversity of the approximately 50 subjects at our university can be expressed. Instead, we welcome this diversity.
What is the stance of the skuba?
The skuba says YES to financial equalisation. They emphasize that the idea of financial equalisation was developed by student committees and accepted in the student council. In cooperation with the student committees that are running the referendum campaign, a compromise was found to each of their objections.
The misleading and polemical anti-campaign of the referendum groups is rejected by the skuba. Misleading claims and other contra arguments are refuted on the website of the skuba's pro campaign.
Where can I get more information?
The pro-campaign
You can find more information on the “Finanzausgleich” and the voting process on the website of the skuba and the pro-campaign launched by the skuba. If you have any questions about financial equalisation, our argumentation, or our position on contra-arguments, please feel free to contact the board of the Student Association Anthropology, or ask in one of our chat groups!
The referendum
The student committees Economics, Medicine, Law, and Pharmaceutics are running the referendum campaign. You can find their contra argumentation in the “Abstimmungsbüchlein” (PDF, German). However, since some of the arguments are misleading and untrue, we refer to the skuba's criticism of the contra argumentation.
Student Association Anthropology
University of Basel
Institute of Social Anthropology
Münsterplatz 19
4051 Basel
Switzerland
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