An employee at Dalhousie University’s main campus bar is calling on members of the school’s student union to resign after on-campus alcohol services were abruptly suspended.
Maddie Stinson, a bartender at the Grawood, says executive members of the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) have shown “blatant disrespect” for their employees by allowing the situation to escalate to this point.
“Students aren’t shocked because people have already kind of lost faith in the DSU,” Stinson told Global News in a phone interview Friday. “I think people are more surprised that someone actually allowed this to happen, that no one that works in the DSU actually thought about it and planned for something like this.”
“People, frankly, want them removed from their term.”
Alcohol services at the Grawood on Studley campus and T-Room on Sexton campus suddenly came to a halt on Wednesday due to ongoing conflict between DSU executive members and university officials.
Both businesses remain open, but they’re no longer permitted to serve alcohol under Dalhousie’s licence. There’s no timeline as to when on-campus alcohol service will resume.
READ MORE: Dalhousie suspends alcohol service at Halifax campuses as conflict with DSU escalates
The DSU has not responded to calls for comment, while Dalhousie University spokesperson Brian Leadbetter was unavailable on Friday for an interview.
Stinson says the suspension will have a detrimental impact on business, as the T-Room doesn’t serve food and several events are held at the Grawood throughout the academic year.
“We’re going to go to work and sit around for a really long time,” she said. “The most expensive drink as a bartender that I can sell is $3.45. It’s ridiculous how little money we’re going to make.”
The Dalhousie Undergraduate Engineering Society (DUES) issued a statement Thursday on the suspension, claiming they are “not confident that the DSU executive took all the steps they could” to avoid the current situation.
The statement goes on to criticize DSU executive and their relationship with Sexton campus.
“While providing little to no services on this campus, they have additionally failed to attend their Sexton campus office hours, and refused to relinquish their unused ‘Health Plan’ office, as was promised during their campaign” the statement reads. “These events speak to the complete lack of transparency by the DSU with Sexton students.”
DUES president Ian Kerr declined to comment past the society’s release.
On Friday afternoon, DSU president Aisha Abawajy issued a statement to Dalhousie societies to “clear up some miscommunication regarding Dalhousie’s recent decisions.”
In it, Abawajy claimed that the university is in “direct violation” of its own alcohol policy after electing a university employee as the Liquor Licence Designate. She also claimed the university has changed requirements for societies to have events approved.
“We have been working hard to keep up with the process that has changed several times over the summer with little to no notice,” Abawajy’s statement reads.
“Our student societies have been heavily impacted by the university’s decisions throughout this time.”
Global News has repeatedly tried to contact Abawajy for comment but she has not responded.
READ MORE: Dalhousie Student Union ‘employment restructuring’ forces temporary closure of campus bar
Stinson says there has been a lack of transparency from DSU executive ever since the sudden termination of three DSU staff positions back in June, which resulted in a temporary shutdown of the Grawood.
But this time, Stinson doesn’t expect alcohol services to resume any time soon.
“We can’t trust them. We have no idea who to trust. They say it’s all Dal’s fault, Dal says it’s the DSU, and we’re stuck in the crossfire.”
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