Hi Everyone!
It is nearing the end of the month which means that the colours of our campuses are slowly changing, mid-terms and essays are upon us, and OUSA is preparing for our Fall General Assembly hosted at my home school of Western University.
We have just finished our campus visits which was a great opportunity to connect, learn, and listen to students across the province. Conversations around accessibility, affordability and what the post-secondary education sector looks like in our province were beneficial and rewarding. It also allowed for me, as President, to properly reflect and affirm the work that OUSA is doing for students in Ontario. If you didn’t get a chance to meet us or chat, I would always encourage you to reach out to me or your respective Steering Committee member as we love feedback!
We would like to thank MPP Yvan Baker for taking the time to meet with us to discuss the need for post-secondary data collection. I also was honoured to attend the first joint Minister’s Advisory Committee of Aboriginal Education. It was great to discuss with indigenous leaders and Ministers Matthews, Zimmer, Hunter, and Naidoo-Harris about access to education for indigenous students. Finally, we had the opportunity to speak to the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly on MPP Sattler’s Bill 64 to make appropriate amendments to ensure that interns are treated appropriately.
I want to thank our research team at home office and all the student authors for all the hard work that they have done in the months leading up to our fall General Assembly. We can’t wait to have 65 of Ontario’s brightest minds at Western debating our upcoming policy papers. Topics include: Rural and Northern Students, Sexual Violence Prevention and Response, and Ancillary Fees. I am really looking forward to working with the membership and having them see all the work we do. This will be my fourth general assembly and I am just as excited and anxious as I was the first time two years ago.
After the general assembly we will have our annual advocacy conference (‘lobbycon’) where we will meet with many members of the Provincial Legislature to talk about current priorities facing students. I’m sure there will be lots of great conversations and I am very hopeful there will be some excellent outcomes. During the week of November 21st students can also look forward to the launch of OUSA’s #myWILis campaign about work-integrated learning taking place online and at a campus near you!
Until next time!
Stay OUSAwesome.
Jamie Cleary
OUSA President
@jcleary19