On a downtown campus, real estate is at a premium — but students are getting the short end of the stick
Are you in search of quality computer laboratories or engineering workspaces? We have plenty located in the STEM and Vanier buildings. What about libraries with extensive collections? Morisset has the books (physical or otherwise) to help you out! Need a rehearsal space or a place to finish your oil painting? Perez and Laurier, respectively, have you covered!
What about somewhere to grab a snack? That’s easy — try PIVIK in the Jock-Turcot basement. Want to rest between your classes? There’s a couple couches here and there. What about somewhere you just want to yap with your friends without getting dirty stares, and needing to book a study space? Uhh…
The university does its best to provide students with plenty of studying and work spaces, but what about leisure spaces? Spaces to play music out loud, cry from laughter with your friends, or even just take a little nap between your classes; these are just as necessary.
While the University of Ottawa provides plenty of facilities and tools for all artistic, philosophical, and scientific endeavours, there is still much to be desired for just existing. Sure, you can rewatch Gilmore Girls on the third floor of CRX, or “have a grind session” with your loudest friends in FSS — but odds are, there will be at least two other people studying for midterms that are side-eyeing you.
Enter: Jock-Turcot, the designated space for student union activities since 1973. With four storeys, a dining hall, auditorium, offices for student union services and plenty of seating, it is often the go-to destination for student leisure and traffic. And it should stay this way!
But with a burgeoning student population comes greater demands for space, especially to accommodate the hundreds of clubs and campus activities occurring on a weekly basis. How many students want to rest at UCU, but instead opt to pass through during their class commutes, due to the lack of tables and chairs or the many busy bodies?
There is also a deeper issue of who actually owns Jock-Turcot, and thus how it is managed. Spoiler: it’s not the University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU). Rather, since the 2019 referendum to overturn the previous student union, the U of O oversees all UCU activity. This means that despite the UOSU office and services residing in the building, they have to pay rental fees in order to maintain these spaces — and fulfil their mandates to serve the student population.
This also comes at a greater cost when you factor in the 2023 by-election referendum vote to cut UOSU membership fees for students by 11.37 per cent. Although nearly two years behind us, the ripple effect has not ended, and contributed to the cutting of several UOSU services, such as the Foot Patrol, as extensively reported on by the Fulcrum.
This reduction in student fees has resulted in a reduction in student union business, particularly any plans to build upon or expand the existing student union building, at least from UOSU’s side of the table.
Although the planning for a student pub is underway, it’s still difficult to understand where exactly it would go. The main U of O campus is very insular and was designed that way, little car traffic and all. There’s not much space to sprout a new campus building — the university is still planning to tear older buildings down. There’s some valuable real estate in Sandy Hill — but going off-campus might leave them a bit more vulnerable.
“But what about Nostalgica?” you might be asking. And this is true, the graduate student-run pub is finally open again after nearly five years of closure, since 2020. This is a fantastic addition to campus life, offering a venue for live entertainment and local spot for pub nights.
And yet, many students at the U of O might still be unaware of the importance of Nostalgica’s re-opening — after all, many students who were patrons pre-COVID are long gone. Also, not everyone wants to relax in a pub setting, where loud music is played and alcoholic drinks served. That said, there’s nothing a bit of word-of-mouth and steady promotion can’t fix.
But the U of O used to maintain far more student spaces, and students deserve more options. This is where UOSU comes in — y’know, that organization you pay fees to and vote to represent your interests.
UOSU should be the governing body over Jock-Turcot, and expand student spaces. Clubs shouldn’t only have to rely on classrooms and study rooms to host their activities — much more open spaces, such as the UCU Agora, should be available. And isn’t it lonely to eat with your headphones on in a silent study space?
One first step could be conducting a report card of existing student spaces, similar to the University of Alberta Students’ Union; by assessing spaces on criteria, such as universal accessibility and usability by students, UOSU can better understand the needs of current student spaces, and outline the existing gaps.
Only commuting to campus for class or club activities makes being a student feel more like a 9-to-5 slog of a job, than a balancing period of your life where you’re to engage and try as much as you can with the world around you. Personal downtime — whether that’s eating overpriced sandwiches or watching YouTube with your friends — is just as important as your grades.
Accessible and varied student spaces, not just study spaces, are important. They allow you to relax outside of academic pressures, rather than wandering around from building to building, trying to find where you can eat lunch in peace. They allow you to meet with classmates, colleagues and friends, to feel connected with the wider campus community. In the heart of downtown, amid the rush of school and social pressures, the least we can do is give students a bit more space.
