The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is proud to release the 2018 edition of Habitats: Students in Their Municipalities. This annual publication is comprised of a series of case studies on municipal-level topics and issues affecting undergraduate students. Written by students from OUSA’s member institutions, these submissions aim to highlight both successes and challenges in municipalities across Ontario, providing insight into how students feel about issues within their communities.
This year’s submissions were written by authors from seven of OUSA’s eight member institutions. The prevailing themes of these case studies include the promotion of campus-community partnerships, unsanctioned street gatherings, and promoting a relationship between students and the broader municipal communities.
OUSA recognizes that Ontario’s post-secondary institutions are integral parts of their respective municipalities. Collaboration and coordination between universities and their local municipalities can help facilitate a mutually beneficial relationship that fosters an environment of trust, growth, respect, and community. This type of healthy, productive environment is ultimately in the best interest of both students and municipalities
Habitats provides policymakers, politicians, students, and administrators the opportunity to access unfiltered accounts of students’ perspectives on issues and topics within their communities. Ultimately, students want the relationship between themselves and their municipality to be more than a temporary arrangement. They want it to be a partnership. It is our hope that these case studies offer insights to our stakeholders as we move towards building partnerships that will allow students to be considered members of their municipal communities.