Society. However, during the Spring 2007 election, Graduate Students voted to form their own society separate from the SFSS. This is the Graduate Students Society (GSS) at Simon Fraser University. The start date for full separation was May 1, 2008. Like many student unions in BC, the SFSS also relies heavily on a permanent staff. They hold various bureaucratic positions, help assist board members, and in some cases assist in the development of policy. SFSS staff are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3338 after a merger from Local 5396. History Since its founding in 1967, the organization has been highly politicized. Main campaigns have centered around opposing tuition fee increases, increasing student financial assistance, and advocating for greater uptake of open educational resources (OER). In addition to this, the Society has campaigned for student-dominated university decision-making, academic freedom, improved student services, social democracy, women's rights, gay rights, First Nations, the disabled, and international students. The society's membership in the Canadian Federation of Students has been an enormous controversy. After a long and highly publicized legal battle, the students voted at referendum in 2011 to leave the CFS and re-allocate the mandatory fees back into the SFSS to provide students with more services. In 2005, members voted in favour of a graduate health and dental plan. The Student Society began providing health and dental plan services to graduate students in September 2005. In 2007, graduate students voted to separate from the SFSS and establish the Graduate Student Society at Simon Fraser University, which now provides these services. Controversies Student health plan In 1996, the organization imposed a mandatory health plan to the student population after passing a referendum question during an earlier election. The health plan sparked much controversy on campus. A group of students started a campaign to dissolve the student society, drastically reduce the student society membership fees, withdraw from the Canadian Federation of Students, and eliminate the health plan. A student petition resulted in having three referendum questions decided in the 1997 general election. Of the three referendum questions, only the referendum question on axing the health plan passed. Quorum Until recently, a quorum of 500 members was required to make any changes to the Student Society's bylaws and constitution at the Society's annual general meeting (AGM). As the university has approximately 28,000 students, this means that only 2% of student population is needed