MSU Advocacy - November 2014

volume 1 | issue 1 | november 2014

ADVOCACY

| the post-secondary education newsletter for mcmaster students |

Welcome MacVotes Jess Shoker

McMaster Students Union

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What is OUSA? Jen Carter

Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance

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to the very first issue of the MSU’s Advocacy Newsletter!

For those who I have not had the pleasure to meet, my name is Rodrigo Narro Pérez and I am this year’s Vice President Education! My portfolio includes advocating for and working on projects regarding academics and various aspects of student life. Additionally, I am the chief external advocate for students within the McMaster Students Union (MSU) at the municipal, provincial and federal level.

From engaging with McMaster’s Teaching and Learning centre (MIIETL), to increasing student financial literacy or promoting student entrepreneurship, the MSU continues to work towards enhancing student learning. One of my main priorities for the year has been increasing student support services to ensure that every student, regardless of their situation, can succeed at McMaster. One issue that every university campus is facing is finding ways to increase mental health support and services for students. The MSU is glad to be working alongside the university to ensure that McMaster students receive the support they need to succeed. Whether they receive assistance from our own peer support services (PSL, SHEC, QSSC, WGEN) or from the Student Wellness Centre, we want to ensure that every student knows where they can access the services that they need.

The MSU is a member of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), a provincial lobbying association that advocates research based solutions to address the many issues that post-secondary students in Ontario face. At the federal level, the MSU is a member of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) which also advocates for an affordable, accessible and high-quality post-secondary education.

OUSA GA

Spencer Nestico-Semianiw McMaster Students Union

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When I wrote this, I was in Ottawa for CASA’s Advocacy Week. Throughout the week I was meeting various MPs and Senators to discuss how the federal government should be increasing financial assistance for students, in particular the needs of indigenous students, increasing funding for student mental health promotion and services, and how to better fund the indirect cost of research in universities.

If you are interested in any of these projects or want to talk about anything PSE, academic or student support issues, feel free to drop by my office in the student centre (MUSC 201) or send me an email at vped@msu.mcmaster.ca.

Accessibility Forum Alan Rheaume

McMaster Students Union

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Rodrigo Narro Pérez

Vice President (Education) McMaster Students Union

The Advocacy Street Team are a group of dedicated McMaster students who help engage with their peers to ensure that students’ views and interests are present at decision-making tables. Our mission as the Advocacy Street Team is to raise awareness on issues related to the student experience at McMaster.

The Advocacy Street Team serves as a portal to gage student opinion and provide a venue for students to discuss, critique and lobby on issues they are facing.

Jess Shoker

Advocacy Coordinator McMaster Students Union

Through running a variety of campaigns and events, the Street Team aims to gather your opinions, create dialogue, and inform students of local, provincial, and federal initiatives that impact post-secondary education.

Having been invovled with the Advocacy Street Team for the past two years, I have seen the direct impact that student engagement can have. This year, as the Advocacy Coordinator, my goal is to make sure this impact is as diverse and accessible as possible. Our campaigns and events will be addressing a variety of issues, ranging from the quality of teaching and learning to student housing, financial literacy and others.

An example of one of the campaigns our team was heavily involved with was the MacVotes campaign. In order to engage students during the municipal elections, the Advocacy Street Team staffed an information booth in the Student Centre for the two weeks running up to the election. Volunteers were present to answer any questions about how, when, and where to vote come October 27th, in addition to directing students to the MacVotes site to learn more about Mayoral and Ward One Councillor candidates and their platforms. In preparation of staffing the booth, volunteers were encouraged to review the Macvotes site and FAQ sheets.

They were also provided with a contact point to ensure the volunteers were well informed while on the grounds and also able to receive the most updated information.

Municipal Elections. Oct 27, 2014

MSU MAYORAL DEBATE October 22, 2014 3:00pm to 5:00pm MUSC Atrium

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On October 22nd, the MSU hosted a Mayoral Candidates debate on campus, with 8 of the Mayoral candidates participating. The debate was open to students, community members and other interested parties, and a live stream was provided for those unable to attend. Each candidate was asked a series of questions tailored to reflect the issues and municipal policy most important to students and young voters. The debate also closed with a public question period, which was open to the crowd and those watching the livestream or following along on social media. The MacVotes campaign also released a video discussing reasons why students across campus were voting.

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volume 1 | issue 1 | november 2014

On election day, MSU Advocacy in collaboration with SCSN and EA committee set up an information booth in Mills Plaza outside of the Student Centre in order to remind students to vote. In addition to helping inform students about the voting process, MSU Maroons volunteered to walk groups of students to their designated polling stations. Other than the MacVotes campaign, the Advocacy Street Team has been involved in several other campaigns, ranging from Better Learner, Student Housing to Dollar Daze Week which focused on financial literacy Our team welcomes any new ideas, collaborations and discussions – we want to hear about your opinion. This is your education and your experience and being involved with the Advocacy Street Team is a great way to stay informed with student issues and advocate for real change.

If you have any further questions or comments, please reach out and send me an email at advocacy@msu.mcmaster.ca!

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Jen Carter President

Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is a student lobby organization that represents seven student associations in Ontario. Western, Waterloo, Laurier, Brock, McMaster, Queens, and Trent-Oshawa make up OUSA’s membership, representing 140,000 students in the province. OUSA works to represent undergraduate students in the province. As student advocates, we work with the province and various partners in the postsecondary education to improve the quality of education for students in Ontario.

We are first and foremost student driven. The students of our members’ schools drive the conversation and are able to have a guiding hand in what priorities the organization has. All policies are approved by students, and leaders of the organization are only able to lobby on which policies have already been approved by students.

It is the mission of OUSA to provide an accessible, affordable and high quality education to all willing and able students in the province. We work to make sure groups who have not traditionally had the ability to attend university are recognized through their unique challenges. We also advocate on an affordable education by holding the line on tuition increases and working to improve student financial aid in the province. Finally, the quality of one’s education is another very important factor for us, and we are always striving to ensure that quality is on the agenda of policy makers at Queen’s Park.

OUSA works to make these improvements through practical, well-researched solutions. One of the strongest qualities of the organization is its ability to work within any political context. We work best for our students when we are able to be flexible and bring forward the right advocacy priorities at the right times. We are also a non-partisan organization; we work best for students when we are able to work with the current government.

OUSA is also seen as a thought leader in the province on post-secondary policy. This is something that we are extremely proud of, because these are policies created by students. OUSA as an organization has the ability to demonstrate that students in the province play a crucial role in the improvement of the university sector.

This year, we will be working on policy papers about credit transfer, the accountability of the university sector, student health, mature students, tuition and LGBTQ students. We also have several major advocacy priorities this year, including: • • • • • •

Improvements to student financial assistance Mental health Work integrated learning and co-ops Teaching quality Student union autonomy Open educational resources

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If you have any further questions about how OUSA works for students at McMaster, feel free to reach out and send me an email at president@ousa.ca!

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volume 1 | issue 1 | november 2014

Spencer Nestico-Semianiw External Affairs Commisioner McMaster Students Union

As it currently stands, the MSU’s advocacy team has a wide reach within the province, and one of its most effective avenues for provincial advocacy is through the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). This organization, OUSA, is a provincial lobby group that represents the interests of over 140,000 undergraduate students belonging to seven major universities across the province. Its intentions are to lobby the province to improve post-secondary education through strong research-based policy. In fact, the MSU just finished participating at one of OUSA’s General Assemblies!

So, what is an OUSA General Assembly? Well, each year OUSA has a fall and spring GA where students come together to discuss and (ideally) pass three policy papers that OUSA can use to lobby the PSE sector. Delegates attending the conference are chosen by each member school and are proportional to the school’s population.

As a result, the MSU brought eight voting delegates, with the addition of two non-voting delegates who could participate in policy discussions. On the agenda this year were the policy papers Student Health & Wellness, Accountability, and Student Mobility and Credit Transfer Pathways. Each of these policies attempts to address various issues within the sector. First, Student Health & Wellness attempts to improve the standard of health care for students on campus. Second, Accountability addresses the relationship between universities and students, and how universities can be more transparent and better serving to stakeholders. Finally, Student Mobility and Credit Transfer Pathways looks into the difficulties students have in transferring between institutions of higher learning, and how the sector can better facilitate this process. After three days of critical discussion and productive collaboration, all three policy papers passed at OUSA plenary. This allows the organization to use them as lobbying tools for the next four years!

If you have any questions or would like to get involved in OUSA by writing blogs, attending a general assembly, or contributing to a policy paper, please contact sraexternal@msu.mcmaster.ca.

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Alan Rheaume

University Affairs Commisioner McMaster Students Union

Advocacy iniatives within the Student Representative Assembly (SRA) are conducted by two standing committees, External Affairs (EA) and University Affairs (UA), both of which work to enhance the quality of education at McMaster. While the External Affairs committee deals with MSU relations outside the McMaster community, the University Affairs committee deals with policymaking, information gathering, and internal MSU relations with the university that influence the student experience. In working with the Board of Directors (specifically the Vice President Education), the University Administration, as well as campus groups and stakeholders, our committee strives to meet the needs of our students and help provide them with a high quality undergraduate experience at McMaster.

One way the UA committee is working with the university is in regards to accessibility. On Thursday, November 27th, the MSU will be hosting its first annual Open Accessibility Forum from 6:00pm-8:30 pm in CIBC Hall.

The purpose of this forum is to create a safe space for students to discuss accessibility issues in learning at McMaster, and to facilitate a discussion that can be used for research and awareness of these issues.

Facilitated by MSU Diversity Services, the focus of this year’s forum is The Accessibility of Learning, and will feature guest speakers David Lepofsky (the Chair of AODA) and Tim Nolan (Director of SAS), small breakout sessions about different accessibility topics related to learning, and culminating in a large group discussion.

All students are welcome to attend, and make sure to RSVP on the google form found on the MSU Diversity Services Facebook page. Hope to see you there!

If you have any questions about the SRA Standing Committee on University Affairs please feel free to send an email to srauniv@msu.mcmaster.ca!

27 M .

V NO : 3 0 P , S R –8 U H T 6:00 from IN CIBC HALL, McMaster University Student Centre, Room 319

M S U ’ S F I R S T A N N UA L A C C E S S I B I L I T Y F O R U M :

ACCESSIBILITY IN

LEARNING

DO YOU HAVE A VISIBLE OR INVISIBLE DISABILITY?

DO YOU HAVE IDEAS TO IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY AT MAC? Come out to the MSU’s First Annual Accessibility Forum and make your voices heard!

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RSVP: facebook.com/MSUDiversityServices

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volume 1 | issue 1 | november 2014

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