November 18th, 2019
TORONTO, ON - This week, seventeen student leaders from the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) will head to Queen’s Park to meet with MPPs and their staff. OUSA represents 150,000 students across Ontario from eight universities, and our student representatives will be advocating for OUSA’s priorities on Student Financial Aid, Sexual Violence Prevention and Response, Preparing Students for the Workforce, and Student Mental Health.
“OUSA’s Student Advocacy Conference gives us an opportunity to share our policy recommendations and priorities directly with the provincial government,” said Niveditha Sethumadhavan, Vice President External Affairs at Brock University Students' Union. “This is our 15th year engaging in the conference and each year it helps to establish collaborative relationships with MPPs.”
OUSA believes that all willing and qualified students should have access to accessible, affordable, accountable, high-quality post-secondary education. To achieve this, OUSA recommends improvements to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), funding for student mental health services, investments in work-integrated learning, and a comprehensive approach to sexual violence prevention and response. Taking these steps will help ensure that students have the support they need to thrive in their post-secondary studies and enter Ontario’s workforce.
OUSA will also host a breakfast reception in collaboration with the College Student Alliance (CSA) on Tuesday morning with remarks from MPP David Piccini, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Colleges and Universities, MPP Chris Glover, MPP and former Premier Kathleen Wynne, and MPP Mike Schreiner. OUSA hopes to amplify student voices by giving our student representatives the chance to have meaningful conversations with MPPs during this reception.
“We’re excited to meet with over fifty MPPs and share student concerns,” said Catherine Dunne, OUSA President and Western University Students’ Council Vice-President. “Students have a variety of well-researched policy recommendations, and we are looking forward to sharing these with the provincial government to ensure all students have access to a high quality education.”
To follow along with OUSA’s Student Advocacy Conference, use the #OUSAdvocacy hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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OUSA represents the interests of 150,000 professional and undergraduate, full-time and part-time university students at eight student associations across Ontario. Our vision is for an accessible, affordable, accountable, and high quality post-secondary education in Ontario.
Crystal Mak
Operations & Communications Coordinator
Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
416-341-9948