If you missed Alvin’s nifty intro video, let me be the first to say welcome to the new OUSA website. If you remember the old one, you know it’s about time we had a facelift. I want to thank Alvin for all his hard work getting the site up and running. I think he’s actually started having dreams about HTML
Speaking of accomplishments, OUSA held its annual fall General Assembly from October 23 to 25 and I’m happy to report it was a great success. Student leaders from across Ontario came together at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo to discuss the critical issues facing students today. After three days of hard work and a number of late nights, the delegates unanimously passed policies on the creation of a pan-Canadian accord on higher education, the implementation of the federal Repayment Assistance Plan in Ontario, and the need to replace the stale quality debate with a new focus on student success. Over many hours of breakout sessions, students discussed issues ranging from simplifying university-to-university credit transfer to improving teaching quality to a need for enhanced student support services on Ontario campuses.
OUSA welcomed the Honourable John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities as the conference’s keynote speaker. The Minister gave a short address and answered questions from students for the better part of an hour. At the conclusion of the Minister’s remarks, OUSA President Dan Moulton presented him with a copy of OUSA’s submission to the government, detailing what students need to see in the forthcoming long-term plan for higher education. If you’d like to read a transcript of the Minister’s remarks, check out the next edition of OUSA’s Educated Solutions publication which will be released at the end of the month.
Also presented at the meeting were the OUSA 2008-09 Annual Report, OUSA’s audited statements and a mid-term financial update. OUSA Vice-President (Finance) Rob Lanteigne and Tim Sothern, Partner at BDO-Dunwoody, answered all finance-related questions from the delegates.
The OUSA spring General Assembly will be hosted at the University of Western Ontario this year. I encourage all students wishing to attend as a delegate to contact their Steering Committee representative. You can find them on the “Our Team” section of this delightful new website.
-Alexi White
