MUN Students' Union

After the provincial government slashed millions from Memorial’s budget, university administrators are looking to financially overburdened residence students to make up the difference. Fee increases of up to $600 per semester have been announced for students living in on-campus residences. Coupled with a mandatory meal plan that costs almost as much as accommodations, the increases bring residence fees to more than $4000 a semester, far in excess of the local housing market rates.

Students from rural Newfoundland and Labrador comprise the single largest group of students living in Student Housing, a fact which stands in stark contradiction to the provincial government’s claim to maintain a fee freeze for residents of the province.

“These are students who already face considerable barriers in adjusting to university life,” said Robert Leamon, Director of External Affairs with the MUN Students’ Union.

“The impact of relocating far from families and home communities, coupled with the fact rural students come from communities with high unemployment rates and lower average earnings, means the university and government are targeting this province’s most vulnerable.”

Students living in residence already face a daunting array of challenges and barriers. While many students choose to live in Student Housing in order to ease their transition to university and to St. John’s, consultations with residence leaders last year revealed many are already experiencing difficulty making financial ends meet. Higher fees will also mean students will be required to spend more time seeking part-time employment to cover their costs, at the expense of their studies.

“Memorial is making a cash grab at the province’s most vulnerable group of youth. These youth should not be the ones to pay the price for the provincial government’s short-sighted cuts to post-secondary education. Post-secondary education is the greatest hope for this province’s future, and targeting students with fee increases will only hasten the departure of our province’s already shrinking youth population.”

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On Wednesday, September 23, students and supporters will be joining together in a show of solidarity for the rights of all students to access post-secondary education free of barriers that discriminate, isolate and marginalize. The message to the university – and the community – is simple and clear: - We all deserve the right to access education free of barriers and discrimination. - The duty to accommodate is not up for debate. It’s a human right and it must be respected. - Discrimination against even a single student must never be ignored. Join us on Wednesday, September 23 at 12:00pm in the atrium of the Arts & Administration Building. Show your support. Show your outrage. Show your solidarity.

To show your support and to promote awareness for the rally on Wednesday, here are some helpful tools:

Here’s a link to the facebook event: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/903218123049229/

Here’s a facebook profile picture:

Here’s a facebook banner:

A professor at Memorial University refused to wear a sound-transmitting device necessary for a student’s ability to participate in the classroom last week during a lecture. This is not the first complaint of this nature to be launched against the professor.

“We respect religious freedoms and believe Memorial should do everything it can to accommodate religious beliefs, but we cannot understand how this is a basis to deny a student access to the classroom,” said Robertson. “The MUN Student's Union is working with this student and will continue to take action on campus to ensure no student is denied accommodation in the future."

“Reducing barriers to education and creating a campus that is safe and accepting for all students are at the core of the work of the students’ union,” added Robertson.

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Since the tuition fee freeze for graduate students was implemented graduate student enrolment at Memorial University has increased by approximately 225%. Since the tuition fee freeze for international students was implemented international student enrolment at Memorial University has increased by approximately 350%.

The 2015 budget included more than $40 million in cuts to Memorial University, and also lifted a 15-year tuition freeze on graduate students, along with the tuition freeze for international and medical students. It also opened the door for significant fee increases for students in residence, who are predominantly from rural parts of Newfoundland and Labrador.

“It’s absolutely baffling for this government to talk about a population growth strategy out of one side of its mouth, while out of the other side it is imposing policies that will inevitably drive away the students, workers and young people who had hoped to build their lives in this province. It’s hypocritical, and it’s poor public policy,” said Perry.

Students are calling on the Davis government to restore funding to the university and reinstate the tuition freeze for medical, graduate, and international students.

“Any successful population growth strategy must include a strong post-secondary policy, and that means upholding this province’s nationally applauded tuition fee freeze,” said Perry. “We will continue taking action and underscoring this message until it is heard, and until the tuition freeze is restored.”

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For further information, please contact:

Michael Walsh, Canadian Federation of Students Newfoundland and Labrador Organiser 709.737.3204 (office) or 709.685.3203 (cellular)

In a meeting with students Dr. Kachanoski revealed he plans to pursue a 30% tuition fee increase for graduate students and international students in order to raise an additional $4.8 million, while increasing residence fees to raise $1.9 million – a move which would disproportionately target the province’s rural youth. Kachanoski also warned that the tuition freeze excludes the province’s medical students.

“Government’s failure to protect graduate and international students threatens a 15-year legacy of accessible post-secondary education in this province,” said Brittany Lennox, Director of Student Life with the MUN Students’ Union.“Increases to students living in residence will target rural youth who need support the most, while the whopping 30% fee increase that’s been proposed for others will target the very students the university and province are trying to attract. Graduate students and international students are both vital in building a diverse, highly skilled workforce to drive our economic recovery and replenish our shrinking population.”

The threatened fee increases undermine both accessible post-secondary education as well as provincial efforts to promote immigration. Students are calling for a restoration of funding to the university to protect the freeze and ensure that neither accessibility nor quality of education is compromised.

“It is short-sighted and irresponsible that with a university budget of more than $300 million, neither university nor government were able to find the necessary $6.7 million in savings necessary to keep the freeze for all students,” added Lennox. “We’re talking about less than 0.1 percent of the provincial budget, but the outcome will have a devastating impact on individual students, their families, and the future of the province. The fact that the university and government made these detailed plans without input from the broader university community is frankly appalling.”

Students will be holding a town hall on Thursday May 14 at 6pm in EN-2043 for students to discuss the looming fee increases and strategize next steps. -30- For further information, please contact: Brittany Lennox, Director of Student Life

The greatest fear of anyone leaving a position like mine is that we’ll look back in a couple of years to find that all of the victories we fought so hard for have been lost. I believe I can rest easy. Students at Memorial care deeply about issues like access to education, tuition fees, mental health services, and anti-oppression. Students here are ready to take action to defend education–both for ourselves and for those to come.

With talk of privatization and cuts to public services, and a provincial budget set to come down before the end of the month, it’s more important than ever that students remain vigilant.

The tuition fee freeze, the needs-based grants program, the funding to our institutions that allows us to have high-quality education–all of these things have been hard fought for and won by students. It’s important that students pay attention to the upcoming budget to ensure our strong system of accessible, high-quality post-secondary education remains intact. Be prepared to act in case of cuts.

It’s been an honour representing you over these past few years. Though part of me is sad to be moving on, I’m excited to see all of the great things students in this province will accomplish in the years ahead.

Thanks for everything and good luck,

We know that this investment works: early results from the province’s latest Career Search survey show that 43% of Canadians from other provinces and 71% of international students were still living and working in this province two years after graduation. That means that almost 2,900 of the students from away currently studying at Memorial will stay here to live and work after graduation. With a rapidly declining youth population, it’s more important than ever that Newfoundland and Labrador continues to attract people from the rest of Canada and the world.

Moreover, student debt is down by 53% over the previous decade, freeing up financial resources and allowing many graduates to start their lives sooner upon graduating - buying homes, starting families, opening businesses, and investing in our economy.

Implementing differential fees for out-of-province students would increase the financial burden on students who come from away, and as we saw in the ‘90s when the province erroneously experimented with increasing tuition fees, this will result in fewer students enrolling at Memorial from outside NL.

Further, increasing fees won’t lead to an increase in the quality of education or facilities at MUN. We’ve seen from our past and from universities across the country that an increase in tuition fees is always accompanied by a decrease in public funding. Rather than increasing the overall budget of the university, tuition fee increases just download the costs onto the backs of students.

That's why the Canadian Federation of Students - Newfoundland and Labrador is organizing in response to the Auditor General's report. Along with every other students' union in the province, MUNSU will work to defend the tuition fee freeze for the benefit of all of our members. If you want to help out directly, visit the MUNSU office or email [email protected]. Don’t hesitate to say hi when you see us in the halls, and visit munsu.ca for updates as the campaign unfolds.

Ever since the closing of the SaveEasy in Churchill Square, residence students have been finding it harder and harder to get the groceries that they need. This has been a significant source of stress for a lot of students, who have had to spend too much time and money to fulfill their basic needs. This is why MUNSU worked with Dominion to provide students with a free, convenient means of transportation every week so that students can get their groceries. Running every Tuesday night from 6 to 9 pm, it gives students the chance to get their shopping done in a cheap and timely matter, so that they have one less thing causing them stress in their already busy lives. Even better, the bus runs from Corte Real to Stavanger Drive, so students can avail of the great variety of stores at that location! For the past few weeks the bus has been absolutely packed, and it’s fantastic to see we’re providing a service that students appreciate so much.

I can’t argue that most students don’t fit somewhere on this list, but if we do it’s because as university students we are finding our path in life while doing a lot of school work and paid work and volunteering and everything in between. (Wouldn’t you like to see your parents live a day in your shoes?)

Between working, socializing, and trying to achieve the best GPA, students are entitled to a bit of fun along the way. Even if that means eating breakfast at 3pm or enjoying a night out with your friends!

Check out Buzzfeed’s “27 things that are only acceptable in university” and think about why these stereotypes might exist.

Every Tuesday a bus will be leaving campus at 6pm, shuttling students to Dominion on Stavanger Drive. There, students can get their groceries or shop around the area until 9pm, when the bus leaves Dominion to return to campus. The campus pick up/drop off location is Corte Real, near Burton’s Pond. Of course, this service comes at no charge to students -- or to the Students’ Union! We’ve struck a partnership with Dominion on Stavanger Drive to make this happen.

One of the great things about establishing this shuttle with the Stavanger Drive Dominion is that should students need to access any of the businesses in the Stavanger Drive shopping centre, they can now get to the area once a week for free! Whether they need to pick up groceries, school supplies at Staples, computer accessories at Future Shop, or all three, it’s now only a short bus ride away.