On the tangibles of advocacy…

As outlined in the Post Secondary Learning Act of Alberta, the mandate of all student unions/associations in Alberta is to advocate on behalf of their constituents, to the University administration, and to the three levels of government. This year the ULSU has done this through its membership in The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), The Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS), attendance at City Council meetings, as well as on numerous committees at the University level (including the Board of Governors, the Senate, General Faculties Council, and University Budget).

Of these groups, the federal and provincial advocacy tends to be the most contentious when it comes to the student body. The ULSU pays approximately $26,000 in membership fees to CASA and CAUS. As you may have guessed, the money for these membership fees comes from YOUR SU fees. A common question we receive, and rightly so, is “What are the benefits of being part of these organizations?” People frequently want to see the tangibles for the money they have contributed, so how do we justify spending all this money to be part of these organizations?

The answer is quite simple – access.

March was home to the Lobby Conventions for both CAUS and CASA, which were both weeklong events during which members from the ULSU go to the respective capital cities and advocate on behalf of the students here at the University of Lethbridge.

For CAUS, President Adam Vossepoel, VP Academic Jenn Prosser, and VP Academic Comissioner Kendall Yamagishi spent several days in Edmonton lobbying MLA’s and Ministers. During that week, CAUS had 51 meetings with members of the Legislative Assembly, including meetings with the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, Doug Horner. 

For CASA, Adam Vossepoel, President Elect Jeremy Girard, and I spent a week in Ottawa running around Parliament Hill. During that week, CASA had over 160 meetings with MP’s, Senators, and parliamentary aids. Some names you might recognize are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton, Elizabeth May, Gilles Duceppe, Stéphane Dion, Speaker of the House Peter Milliken, local MP Rick Casson, and local Senator Joyce Fairbairn. That’s right; we were able to meet with all five party leaders, a first for the organization. Also, I was invited to attend a special meeting with the top dogs at Elections Canada, were we had the opportunity to discuss the “Lethbridge Incident,” as well as future plans to increase accessibility for student voters.  

So all of these meetings are fine and dandy, but the follow-up question is do they accomplish anything?

If any of you were watching CPAC during the last week of March, you would have probably noticed a few questions during question period about Post Secondary Education, questions that were formulated directly from CASA policy. During the 2008 Federal Election, many of the main political parties had policy almost word-for-word from CASA in their PSE plans. Both the new Canadian Student Grant Program and Repayment Assistance Program introduced by the government address policy presented by CASA; policy that was contributed to by the ULSU. The ~$2 Billion in funding for deferred maintenance announced by the federal government was not just a victory for CASA, but also the University of Lethbridge, as we recognized this as a major issue on our campus. When teamed up with CAUS, we are able to secure $145 million of that for the U of L. Last year CAUS succeeded in lowering interest rates on student loans in Alberta, something that many of us here are quite appreciative of. Elections Canada said they want the ULSU to be one of their main partners in formulating a student strategy for the next election. Elizabeth May said the Green Party wants to use CASA as their main source of information and policy on PSE. The Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked positively about CASA in caucus (he is not frequently known for mentioning advocacy groups in caucus). If you noticed that now when you apply for an Alberta Student Loan, they no longer consider the value of your car as income, that’s another CAUS victory. The increase in funding for university residential spaces across the province? Check mark CAUS!

While these victories may seem small compared to the dozens upon dozens of policies presented by CASA and CAUS, you really need to look at the system in which they are working. If you ask for 30 things, you might only get two, and it could take a year or two to implement. That’s the nature of the bureaucracies of the provincial and federal government. However, that is MAJOR progress. It’s the needs of students being addressed, and both CASA and CAUS are attributed levels of success that many similar organizations could only dream of. Not many organizations can say they get meetings with the head of every political party, or have its members on a first name basis with the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. But we can, and that’s worth something.

Brodie Pattenden

VP Admin

The 2008/2009 CAUS Membership

ULSU VP Admin Brodie Pattenden with Stephane Dion

ULSU President Adam Vossepoel with Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff

 

 

 

 

New Changes announced for Canada’s Student Access Grant Program and Loan Repayment

On August 25th, The Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development announced the changes at Kitchener’s Pathways to Education Program.

“Because of the changes our Government has introduced, the dream of a post secondary education will be open to every Canadian regardless of their level of income,” said Minister Solberg. “What a tremendous opportunity for students and for their potential, and what a powerful advantage for Canada.”

The changes in student financial assistance programs include a new up-front Canada Student Grant of $250 per month for students from low-income families and $100 per month from students from middle-income families; a new repayment plan to help students who are having difficulty paying back their student loans, as well as improved services for students to simplify the whole loan process; and greater support for students with permanent disabilities.

“Minister Solberg’s commitment to help improve access for low and middle-income students and the government’s new initiative to help relieve student debt is reassuring for those who are faced with the burden of such barriers,” said Zach Churchill, National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.

By creating this plan to improve access to post-secondary education, the federal government has “opened doors‟ for a portion of students in Canada. That said, there are still groups that remain largely underrepresented in the current PSE system, such as Aboriginal students, rural students, first generation learners and students with disabilities.

As the CSGP is solely income-based, students from other under-represented groups, including those who received funding from the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation (CMSF), may no longer be eligible to receive assistance. Aboriginal learners and rural students, for example, will no longer have access to targeted non-repayable grants.  Further, by cutting all of the needs-based funding formerly provided by the CMSF, many students will find themselves with little or no support when trying to manage their debt loads.  Needs-based assistance has played a vital role in helping students to complete their post-secondary education, as well as meaningfully participate in the economy upon graduation. Studies have shown that the more debt students take on, the less likely they are to finish their programs. In order to be truly accessible, financial assistance programs for higher education must address the issues of high student debt and target those with the greatest need. Considering that the average student graduates with over $25,000 worth of debt, any effective federal grant program must address both access and persistence, by providing a mix of both income and needs-based grants.  

There is additional concern that unlike the CMSF, the new CSGP will not contain a research component. Research is an essential component of informed policy decisions. Without a third party research component, the government will not have the necessary tools to evaluate the success rate of the program or develop new and innovative approaches to student financial aid. It is CASA’s position that this research element is of great importance, and that the federal government must work to address the existing knowledge gap in understanding barriers to access by allocating funds to establish a national research program on post-secondary education issues. 

The University of Lethbridge is a proud member of The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. There website can be found here

You can find the HRSDC release at this link

Brodie

Bands!

Here are a few shots from our two nights out on the town so far:

So far we have seen 11 bands play over the past 2 days. For what its worth, here’s what I have to say about them all.

Day 1:

Creature – Great band with some funky beats. They really do their own thing, but wow do they rock! They have such a high energy show and a great presence for the stage.

Escalate! – The kind of band you would hear in a high class lounge; their songs flowed together. Awesome sound and entirely instrumental.

wordPEOPLE – A solid six person crew with male and female vocals that blended well. The had some great crowd interaction.
Day 2:

More or Les – These guys were the surprise of the night for me. A killer DJ (she is called DJ KillaJewel) and man could she spin those beats. More or Les kept the club going near the end of the night and played an awesome show with some very quick rhymes.

Crash Parallel – Rock out! They sounded great, but nothing about them was innovative or overly exciting. A great show, high energy, but I am afraid they are competing with a saturated market in terms of genre.

The Carps – Haha! These guys got kicked off the stage but damn they got the crowd going! COCA started them late and didn’t give them the extra time they should have! Boo! But they have balls and a great show to back up their attitude. (They promised to play nice if we ever book ‘em at our school.)

The John Henrys – Yee-Haw! Really though these guys had some very impressive showmanship. Need a good opener out west? These guys are what you are looking for.

Jon and Roy – We meet again! These guys played the Zoo two years ago. Their surfer rock tones are as good as they have been and they have a new disc out! A personal favorite for me and they capped the night off at the venue with some great songs.

Kae Sun – Some great beats. He seemed very political and conscious in what he was saying. He has a larger group, normally, but all and all he preformed well.

The New Cities – These guys did their thing; unfortunately I felt like I had heard their thing before. Fallout Boy, Good Charlotte, Panic at the Disco… the list goes on. Sorry guys, but no thanks.

Dan Mangan – Best show of the night! A west coast boy with a real heart for music. He has such a good blend of folk sound, melodic vocals, and poetic lyrics, look out for Dan to start breaking out big time in the next year. He will need some solid promotion, but man this is the kind of music that reaches deep into you.

Tonight’s show is going to be sick! “Hey Ocean,” “hey rosetta!,” and “The Coast” have peaked some major interest around the conference as well as the funk sensation “God Made Me Funky.”

More pics to come.

Eric
VP Internal