Students from Carleton University and the University of Ottawa have asked the provincial government to open up university and college campuses in order to improve students’ mental health and academic performance.
Jamie Ghossein
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.
“As student representatives to the Board of Governors of the University of Ottawa, we want to express our disappointment with the response of the University and many members of our community to the recent racist events occurring on campus,” write Jamie Ghossein & Saada Hussen the undergraduate student representatives on the University of Ottawa’s Board of Governors.
During Monday’s Board of Governors meeting, several board members highlighted the school’s inefficiency in creating awareness around mental health resources and services on campus.
The letter highlights a series of recommendations for a new student union: a constitution that can only be amended at an annual General Assembly with a majority vote, elections managed by an independent third party, a model of governance which includes mechanisms for punitive action should trust be breached, and accountability to its membership.
Over the summer, the SFUO, Board of Governors, and Senate established new facilities, programs and services for students. It was a busy one.
Victoria Barham, a board member and a professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences, said the services provided to students in her faculty are “catastrophic,” noting long wait times to see academic advisors and a lack of response to questions over email.
The votes are in for the 2017 Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) general election, which saw a 14.6 per cent voter turnout—a large improvement compared with last year’s 7.8 per cent turnout.
