Miscellaneous

Student Advocacy Conference (SAC) is OUSA’s annual, week-long advocacy initiative. Students  from  across  Ontario - delegates  from  OUSA’s  member  associations - meet with legislators and staffers at Queen’s Park on the most important  issues  in  post-secondary  education.  At  each  meeting  with  Members  of  Provincial Parliament (MPPs), delegates highlight the student-written, evidence-based policy recommendations that OUSA advocates to government and ministries all year long. This  year ’s  SAC  ran  from  November  27th  to  30th,  where  eighteen  delegates  from  nine  university  student  associations  across  Ontario  championed  student  advocacy  to  represent  the concerns of over 160,000 undergraduate and professional, full- and part-time students in our province. This summary document provides an overview of the week, we're grateful for everyone who participated in the conference, and see you next year!

For a sixth year, student advocacy organizations across Canada have collaborated to release Shared Perspectives, a joint publication providing region-specific analysis of an important student issue. This year's publication focuses on post-secondary sector sustainability nationwide and highlights the challenges students face as provincial governments and institutions shift their funding approaches. As we grapple with ongoing shifts in the economy, it is essential that students are not overburdened or undersupported as they embark on their post-secondary education journeys. Contributors have provided insightful commentary on their jurisdictions' approaches and how provincial governments and post-secondary institutions can best serve students.

This year, Shared Perspectives includes contributions from:

• the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA); 
• the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS); 
• the New Brunswick Student Alliance (NBSA); 
• the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA); 
• Students Nova Scotia (StudentsNS);
• Quebec Student Union/Union étudiante du Québec  (QS) | UEQ). 

Every year, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) publishes "Habitats: Students in their Municipalities," a platform where undergraduate students from our nine member institutions can showcase their successes and challenges in their communities. It comprises a series of student-written case studies and articles focusing on municipal-level topics. For this special edition, OUSA has collaborated with Rural and Ready, a student-led non-profit organization, to recognize and highlight the distinct experiences of rural and northern students and to improve the affordability, accessibility, accountability, and quality of post-secondary education in the province.

Student leaders representing over 150,000 undergraduate students from across Ontario attended OUSA’s annual Student Advocacy Conference from November 14th to 17th, 2022. Delegates met with 31 MPPs from four political parties to discuss the future of post-secondary education in Ontario and advance OUSA’s advocacy priorities. Over four days (and then some!), the student leaders discussed OUSA’s 4 priorities for the year: affordability, gender-based and sexual violence, rural and northern students, and sector sustainability.

Each year, students from OUSA’s member institutions highlight the successes and challenges they face in their municipalities in Habitats: Students in their Municipalities. Habitats is a series of case studies on municipal-level topics and issues affecting undergraduate students across the province.

For a fifth year, student advocacy organizations across Canada have collaborated to release Shared Perspectives, a joint publication providing region-specific analysis on an important student issue. This year’s publication focuses on the changing landscape of student financial aid and highlights the disparities among various jurisdictional programs that consequently make post-secondary education increasingly unaffordable and inaccessible. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the pressing need for programs that best support students’ ability to finance their education, and contributors provide critical commentary on how to enhance their respective region’s financial aid systems.

At OUSA’s Spring 2021 General Assembly in March, the authorship team working on OUSA’s Indigenous Students policy paper presented a Report to the General Assembly on the Status of the Indigenous Students Policy Paper. Our team includes:

Emily DuBois Brooks. Indigenous Undergraduate Student representing Wilfrid Laurier University. Proudly Indigenous. Proud Mom.

Connor Lafortune. Anishinaabek nini. Indigenous Undergraduate Student representing Laurentian University. Indigenous Student Circle representative. Okikendawt, Dokis First Nation.

Page Chartrand. Anishnaabekwe. Indigenous Undergraduate Student representing Laurentian University. Indigenous Student Circle representative. N'Swakmok/Sudbury.

Alyssa Trick. Indigenous Undergraduate Student representing Laurentian University. Indigenous Students Circle Senate Representative. National Ambassador of Hope for We Matter. Mixed Anishinaabekwe descending from Alderville First Nation.

and

Julia Pereira, Vice President of University Affairs of Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union, OUSA President.

Malek Abou-Rabia, Vice President Education of Laurentian University’s Students’ General Association, OUSA Steering Committee Member.

Student leaders representing over 150,000 undergraduate students from across Ontario attended OUSA’s annual Student Advocacy Conference from November 15th to 19th, 2021. Delegates met with 46 MPPs from four political parties and sector stakeholders to discuss the future of post-secondary education in Ontario and advance OUSA’s advocacy priorities. Over five days, the student leaders discussed OUSA’s 5 priorities for the year: affordability, gender-based and sexual violence prevention and response, racial equity, and sector sustainability, and students with disabilities.

Each year, students from OUSA’s member institutions highlight the successes and challenges they face in their municipalities in Habitats: Students in their Municipalities. Habitats is a series of case studies on municipal-level topics and issues affecting undergraduate students across the province. 

Articles in this year’s edition of Habitats explore persistent and ubiquitous concerns around housing – including those related to quality, affordability, and availability – and access to community resources to address food insecurity and mental health. Others offer insights into opportunities that have been borne out of the global pandemic, exploring questions about what it means to live in one’s community and how students can play an important and critical role in our pandemic response and recovery efforts. 

Ontario’s post-secondary institutions are integral parts of their respective municipalities, and collaboration and coordination between universities and their local municipalities is an important aspect of facilitating a mutually beneficial relationship. A healthy, productive environment born out of collaboration and coordination allows both students and municipalities to thrive by fostering an environment of trust, growth, respect, and community.

Ten student organizations across Canada have released Shared Perspectives: A Joint Publication on Supporting Students During and After COVID-19.  This year's publication looks at how governments, institutions, and higher-education stakeholders can better support students and recent graduates as Canada responds to and recovers from COVID-19. Post-secondary students share their perspectives on issues facing the sector, including student mental health, quality of online learning, student financial aid, and support for marginalized students.