Blog

Hello friends!

November has been a whirlwind of events after events.

Firstly, the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health (CICMH) hosted their annual conference where I got to co-host and where OUSA once again had the chance to present. Our brilliant RPAs, Octavia and Ananya, as well as our superstar MSU representative, Abby, facilitated a session on the mental health experiences of marginalized students in an evolving social-political climate. We were thrilled to see over 120 attendees at their presentation, and appreciate all the hard work of the CICMH staff in their planning and execution of the event!

Hi wonderful people,

I hope your days have been filled with care. It has been a while and a LOT has happened…

I want to begin my update by acknowledging the loss of our friend, Stephanie Ye-Mowe. I am sincerely thinking of my colleague, Steph’s family, friends and loved ones during this time. Stephanie was an amazing advocate and friend, who was strongly committed to amplifying the student voice and had an incredible intellect to match, carrying a critical lens in all the spaces they interacted with. We miss Steph dearly, and are always thankful for what they brought to OUSA and our lives.

Another successful General Assembly (GA) is in the bag for OUSA!  This fall GA, we gathered at Wilfrid Laurier University in Kitchener-Waterloo where student leaders spent four intensive days discussing and approving student-written policy papers. The conference brought together all of our member schools in person with the new addition of the Ontario Tech Student Union, taking our membership slate to represent nine schools and over 160,000 students in Ontario! The excitement from seasoned GA delegates and some of the nervousness of 1st time-goers made for a riveting weekend with laughter, hugs and inside jokes.

OUSA is deeply saddened about the passing of our former board member and VP Finance, Stephanie Ye-Mowe. 

Steph was a fierce champion of student-led advocacy, and stood up for students with conviction, passion, and an intersectional view of how robust policy could best address the diverse needs of students. She made immense contributions to OUSA, always thinking about and acting on ways to improve our work and organization as a whole. They encouraged their peers to think critically about the decisions guiding OUSA’s work and kept students’ best interests at the forefront of everything they did.

Hi everyone! My name is Avina (she/her), and I’m so excited to be joining OUSA as the Communications Assistant!

I’m headed into my 3rd year of Medical Sciences at Western, specializing in One Health. I was drawn to this specialization within the program because of its interdisciplinary nature, which tackles the broad topic of human health through a variety of natural and social science perspectives.

Hi folks!

August has definitely slipped away into a moment in time. This is the calm before the storm - before students return back to campus! 

Last week, I spoke at a Possibility Seeds press conference, Taking Action to Protect Students from Sexual Harassment in Experiential Learning. This is the first national research-to-action project on this issue, and in order to safeguard students against sexual harassment during experiential learning, we urge post-secondary institutions and provincial governments to adopt these recommendations. The release of the preliminary findings also coincides with the one-year anniversary since the Our Campus, Our Safety action plan was released. 

Charlie Martin is the Communications and Advocacy Intern with OUSA for the Summer of 2023. The purpose of starting this show was partly due to completing his capstone project. Charlie wanted to use his project to highlight the works of those he advocates beside and learn more about what it truly means to advocate for students. Through each episode, Charlie brings on a special guest with a unique perspective on a student-related issue to discuss the importance of advocating and bringing awareness to others. Moreover, Charlie discusses how each guest became aware of advocacy and delves deep into their journey to becoming a student leader.

JOB POSTING: PART-TIME COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT

DEADLINE: August 15, 2023 at 11:59PM.

POSITION:  Communications Assistant (Part-Time)

EMPLOYMENT TERM: 32 weeks between September 5th, 2023 to April 30th, 2024

COMPENSATION: $20 per hour, 15 hours per week

LOCATION: Remote

Hi everyone! I hope you are keeping well during this month.

First, I would like to acknowledge the hate-motivated attack that took place at the University of Waterloo. We are standing in solidarity with the Waterloo community and sending our care to everyone affected. The attack is a pivotal marker on the importance of campus gender-based violence advocacy, especially because of its impacts on the Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ community. Hate is not tolerated here and has no place in our organization. OUSA has been engaging with the media in an effort to represent the student voice on this issue.

Hey Family! My name is Abigail Samuels (she/her/hers), and I’m the Vice-President (Education) for the McMaster Students Union (MSU). Only my mother and the CRA use Abigail, feel free to call me Abby <3.