An atrophied student life is possible, if the University chooses
Bill 33 passed, and student life from 101 week, campus clubs, the student union, the Fulcrum, and so much more are now at risk. But it’s not over; the University has a decision to make. Will U of O side with students or with Doug Ford’s government?
Bill 33 is written nebulously, and we won’t know for sure how it will impact campus’ until the regulations are published much later. Still, we don’t have to look far to see what Bill 33 may look like in practice. In 2019 Doug Ford implemented the ‘Student Choice Initiative’, an attempt to undermine campus institutions like student unions or newspapers. Ultimately SCI was struck down in court, but for the months it was in effect it had a pronounced effect. SCI made ancillary fees (think those fees on your tuition for the gym, student union, newspaper, etc) optional. At U of O three in four students opted in, other campuses were much less lucky. This meant significant cuts to student organizations like campus food banks and rape crisis centres.
But the rate at which students paid the fees was not purely a measure of how engaged or supportive students were of their campus institutions, it was also a measure of how friendly collegial administrations were towards these institutions. The mechanism through which SCI made fees optional was almost entirely up to the universities and colleges. Timelines, opt-in vs opt-out, how these refunds were done, and so much more was up to the universities. On some campuses, the administrations choose to make the fees opt-out, others chose to make students opt-in, and others set specific timelines for this process— some with a clear goal of having as few students paying the fees as possible to wipe out the campus organizations challenging the administrations.
Now, with Doug targeting campus institutions again, it’s likely that the central administration of the U of O will decide how ancillary fees will be dealt with. They should remember the value student-run campus institutions have on campus, and I believe, create an ancillary fee system that maintains the funding as much as possible for these organizations. Campus organizations may seem like a bother to the University, but they are actually at the core of what makes the U of O, the U of O, and without them this campus would be hollow.
Think for a moment, about the Fulcrum or La Rotonde. From the perspective of the University, it may seem convenient or even desirable to reduce funding to these storied institutions. I am sure some members of the University would love it if we stopped reporting. But the Fulcrum is also one of the few organizations covering campus topics from sports to news. They are also valuable organizations on their own accord. La Rotonde for example is one of Ontario’s only French-language student-run publications. The Fulcrum has produced some of the finest writers, and journalists in Canada’s news ecosystem; our campus would be worse off without them.
This is also true of the University of Ottawa Student Union. The UOSU provides services that the University of Ottawa would otherwise be tasked with providing, or face the discontent of students losing these services. An atrophied or defunded UOSU may occasionally make the University’s central administrations life easier when a couple dozens students rally on Tabaret lawn, but it would make life much much harder the rest of the time while they try to make up the services UOSU used to offer like the Food Bank.
The Ford government may be intent on weakening student power, but universities are not passive actors in this story. They can choose systems that preserve the integrity of student life or adopt models that quietly allow it to wither.
U of O must recognize that clubs, unions, newspapers, and student-run services are not luxuries or annoyances; they are the backbone of a vibrant, safe, and accountable campus. They enrich academic life, support marginalized students, and, yes, often challenge the University when it fails its community. And that is exactly why they matter.
As regulations roll out and decisions are made behind closed doors, students will be watching. The University can side with a government hostile to student autonomy, or it can stand with the people who actually make this campus thrive. The path it chooses will determine not just the future of student institutions, but the very character of the University of Ottawa for years to come.
The administration must choose wisely. Campus life depends on it.
