An Interview with President Benisse Zinga
Xiadany Jeanette Lopez Hernandez (she/her) // News Writer
Andrei Gueco (he/him) // Contributing Visuals
The Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) Building project is still underway, despite experiencing challenges. In an interview with the Courier, CSU president Benisse Zinga states that the project timeline and location are yet to be decided.
Impeding factors include construction costs, the financial turmoil in the post-secondary education sphere and the unpredictability of border trade. The CSU increased their building levy fee after a 2017 referendum in order to raise funds for the endeavour. However, with the recent decrease in international enrolment at Capilano University, the CSU’s new building remains a goal to be coordinated with the university. A lot of decisions regarding the design, location and construction continue to be uncertain.
The project has been in the planning stage since 2022. CSU’s semi-annual and annual reports from 2022 onwards detail much of the project information. This includes specifics about the budget, discussions about the construction process and past and current challenges. The project has faced difficulties such as the pandemic and the high cost of construction and materials. Additionally, they mentioned the purpose of the new building is based on students’ necessities. Zinga explained “We have conducted extensive consultations with students over several years to get an understanding of the needs of the Capilano student community.”
According to the 2024 annual report of the academic year, the approximate funds gathered reached nearly $6.9 million, representing 40 per cent of the money required to finance the project. CSU expected to have a proposal to ask Capilano University to borrow the remaining amount of funds to meet the starting budget for the project. However, this year the decrease in students enrolled has caused the CSU to adjust to the lower budget, including the funds for the new building.
Graphic from the Fees section of the CSU Website. Accessed on September 9, 2026.
The CSU states that the building fee for students is “$9.55 per credit (up to 15 credits),” in the fee breakdown available on their website. According to this information, if students are taking 15 credits, they are paying around $143.25 per semester. It is also mentioned that the Union expects to earn around $140,752 in revenue from investments for this year. Nevertheless, there are no official announcements so far on how close the CSU is to their goal to begin the project or what the future holds for it.
With the current crisis regarding international enrolment and stagnant provincial funding, the CSU decided to not rely on the university to borrow the remaining project funds. Instead, they decided to “finance a substantial part of the project budget through external financing.” No further details about the source of the external financing were shared with the Courier at the time.
The CSU website lists the objectives they have for this new space: lounges, silent study spaces, bookable rooms, food and drink options and potentially a pub. Zinga explained the purpose of this new space will be to “ultimately empower student communities and groups to build connections and contribute meaningfully to campus life.” The president also mentioned that they are exploring the option of repurposing an existing space instead of having a new building.
When asked about a prospective timeline or location, Zinga answered “We take our responsibility with student funds very seriously, which means being thoughtful and deliberate in how we move forward.”
As a result, the current CSU spaces like the Maple lounge and the Library lounge will remain managed by the CSU as the future of the CSU building remains uncertain.