TORONTO – This week, nineteen student leaders from the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) will meet virtually with MPPs and their staff to discuss student concerns. OUSA represents 150,000 students from eight universities across Ontario, and our student representatives will be advocating for OUSA’s priorities on Affordability, Gender-based and Sexual Violence Prevention, Racial Equity, Sector Sustainability, and Students with Disabilities.
"As we come upon another year of virtual meetings during COVID-19, students are eager to meet with MPPs and discuss how we can work together to better support students and prepare graduate for the workforce," said Stephanie Ye-Mowe, Vice-President Education at the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association and VP Finance. "We hope to have some productive discussions about our advocacy priorities and the broader issues students are facing especially throughout the pandemic."
OUSA believes students should have access to accessible, affordable, accountable, high-quality post-secondary education as we navigate the pandemic. To achieve this, OUSA recommends improvements to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), trauma-informed and survivor-centric policies on gender-based and sexual violence, ethical and regular data-collection to support racial equity, and increased work-integrated learning opportunities equally available for students with disabilities.
“It’s critical we discuss student concerns directly with the provincial government to ensure students are included in the province’s recovery efforts,” said Jacob Marinelli, Commissioner of External Affairs for the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University and OUSA Steering Committee member. “We are looking forward to sharing our research and evidence-based recommendations that will support students through this difficult time.”
To follow along with OUSA’s Student Advocacy Conference, use the #OUSAdvocacy hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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About: 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.
Contact:
Irum Chorghay
Communications and Operations Coordinator
Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
[email protected]
[1] Data request