“Whenever I was struggling with the thought of wanting to hurt myself, or wanting to go out and drink, I would bead until I didn’t feel that way anymore,” said Cassidy Copenace, a 21 year-old living in Naotkamegwanning First Nation. “Even if I was beading all night, and if I was tired, I would just keep going until I was either super tired, or I just didn’t feel the way I did before I started doing my beadwork.”
The University of Ottawa and the union representing its support staff (PSUO-SSUO) have reached a tentative agreement. The details of the new agreement are unknown but the PSUO-SSUO’s 1,300 members will be heading back to work on Friday morning.
“At times it’s overwhelming, but if it were not for my parents, my grandparents, their grandparents what they endured it wouldn’t be possible for me to be here,” said U of O alumni and Canada’s only Indigenous forensic pathologist Dr. Kona Williams.
“I do not blame [the support staff] for any of this,” says Jillian Prins, a third-year U of O chemical engineering and biochemistry student. “They literally are the ones taking risks by being on campus to provide us with a complete education,” says Clara Perrier, a second-year biochemistry major at the U of O.
There was tension in the air on Monday as the University of Ottawa’s Board of Governors met to discuss the recent events at the University. Topics included the PSUO-SSUO new collective agreement negotiations, racism on campus with new alleged incidents this past weekend, and the approval of a new 2020-21 budget.
“It was very emotional for me as I had never before heard so much appreciation for non-Indigenous presence,” said Polish retiree Feliks Welfeld.
“This is our way to fish and hunt and no way should Fisheries and Ocean Canada (DFO) get a chance to tell us what our modern livelihood is. It’s not even a ‘modern livelihood’, it’s our inherent right,” said Janelle Niles, one of the organizers of the protest.
University of Ottawa president Jacques Frémont has released a second statement to the U of O community asking for “calm and reflection” around the recent controversy surrounding a professor’s use of the ‘N-word.’
A “Hateful/bias graffiti” was found on the University of Ottawa’s campus on the afternoon of Oct. 18. The student body was alerted with a tweet and statement from the University.
The University of Ottawa’s president and vice-chancellor Jacques Frémont responded early this morning to the recent incident of a professor uttering the ‘N-word’ in an online lecture. The professor had been suspended since early October, and a group of professors had written a letter denouncing her treatment at the hands of the U of O administration.
A group of 34 current and retired University of Ottawa professors have signed a letter to express their disagreement with the University’s treatment of professor Verushka Lieutenant-Duval.
CHEO and U of O have partnered with the City of Ottawa to work on a “shitty” research project dealing with local sewage.
Caroline Cox of the Shepherds of Good Hope knew in March when the pandemic hit, they would be in trouble, not just for the number of already-vulnerable persons they help but in losing their dedicated senior volunteers leaving for their health and safety. However, their downtown Ottawa location has had an unexpected uptick in the number of student volunteers.
“We don’t know much about the mental health of our workforce in this country. The more this crisis goes on, the more these issues will be compounded,” said Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, a U of O professor and holder of the University’s research chair in gender, diversity and the professions.
The union representing support and administrative staff at the University of Ottawa (PSUO-SSUO) has announced its intention to proceed with a strike on Monday at 12:01 a.m. if it cannot reach a tentative settlement on a collective agreement with the University.
Café Alternatif (otherwise known as Café Alt) served as a popular study space for students on campus in the basement of Simard Hall.
From Sept. 28 to Oct. 2, the University of Ottawa hosted its 14th annual Peace Week. This year, festivities featured virtual events focusing on the wellbeing of stressed-out students. However, the name seemed to confuse many about the week’s actual purpose and goal.
Local paddlers Anika Smithson,Monika Szyptko along with Burlington’s Danika Guppy can finally get rid of their sea legs after completing their week-long kayak of the Rideau Canal, ending at Ottawa’s Hartwell Locks with a shoreline cleanup last Saturday Oct 5.
“I think always being honest and always being open to whatever people have to tell me and being honest about synthesizing that information and bringing it forward. I don’t have a whip, I don’t have much power, but I do have people listening to me,” says Elizabeth Kristjansson, the University of Ottawa’s new advisor on mental health and wellness
“There needed to be a clear and forceful reaction of the international community,” Packer said in an interview with the Fulcrum. “Unfortunately, what we’ve seen is the opposite.”
The Carceral Studies Research Collective at the University of Ottawa hosted an online panel event discussing the intersectionality of prisons, racism and university campuses on Sept. 30.
There are 15 positions open. Nomination period is from Oct. 12 to Oct. 27 with voting from Nov. 1 to Nov. 7.
“Coming to university is a huge transition, said Initiative 1/5 president Kari-Ann Clow. “Mental Illness tends to often have its first episodes in young adults. They’re changing, they might be away from family, there is a new identity forming, so there’s a lot of pressure on top of the stigma associated.”
“There’s increased stress and anxiety among students because of the disruption and uncertainty caused by COVID-19,” said Rita Notarandrea, ceo of CCSA.
University of Ottawa law alumna Annamie Paul won the Green Party leadership race last night in the eighth round of voting. Paul is the first Black Canadian and Jewish woman to be elected as the permanent leader of one of the five major federal political parties.
