From the Saanic News.

 

Hungry students. Packed classrooms. Students passed up at bus stops and no longer able to afford previously tuition-free adult basic education courses.

These issues reach beyond the post-secondary student population and affect everyone, says Camosun College Student Society external executive Madeline Keller-MacLeod, organizer of a student action and public awareness campaign slated for Feb. 1.

“I’ve talked to a lot of students who have told me about trying to write papers after not having eaten for several days,” Keller-MacLeod said. “I’ve talked to people who were at those crisis points.”

Camosun will be participating in All Out Feb. 1: Canada’s National Day of Action, an initiative from the Canadian Federation of Students, to which the student union belongs.

The event will feature information booths, a free lunch and presentations from Jessica Van der Veen, founder of LANDS (Let’s not Agree to Dispose of Schools), as well as Bronwen Welch, president of the Camosun College Faculty Association.

Among talking points, Welch will speak to growing class wait lists at Camosun as well as the shortage of technology and supplies.

Courses are being cut because the college can simply not afford to run them – and that means that classrooms are often overloaded because

instructors do not want to turn students away, Welch wrote in an email to the News.

“Unless this government makes post-secondary education a priority, students will not be receiving the kind of education they deserve,” Welch added. “Education is an investment in our future – not a cost.”

Beyond the national campaign’s chief goals of reducing tuition fees, reducing student debt and restoring education funding, Keller-MacLeod would like to see the general public come to campus and become more engaged.

“Post secondary issues are issues for everyone,” she said.

“It’s really important that students recognize the ongoing investment each and every B.C. taxpayer makes towards post secondary education – in all, $1.9 billion last year alone in operating funds, which works out to about $5.2 million a day in taxpayer support,” said Advanced Education Minister Naomi Yamamoto in a statement. “This also means that our students are paying less than a third of the actual cost of their education.”

The event – which will also touch on transit overcrowding along school routes and changes to the cost of adult basic education courses – runs Feb. 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the courtyard outside the Fisher Building of the Lansdowne campus. Lunch is served at noon with talks to follow.

 

 

Higher tuition fees and changes to student loan programs mean BC students are now saddled with record-high student loan debt. The average BC university student debt is $27,000 upon graduation. About half of all students in BC depend on student financial assistance in order to pursue post-secondary education.

As tuition fees have risen, the BC government has axed financial aid to the point where BC now spends the least of any province on non-repayable financial aid—over 70% below the national average. Combined with the highest interest rates on student loans in Canada, it’s no wonder student debt in BC is out of control.

The Canadian Federation of Students-BC’s Education Shouldn’t be a Debt Sentence campaign is calling on the BC government to commit to a four-point plan to reduce student debt: 

1. Reduce tuition fees
2. Create a student grant program
3. Increase per-student funding to 2001 levels
4. Eliminate interest on student loans.

 

Across Canada, public post-secondary is generally underfunded, and a new period of spending cuts could threaten the very nature of our public university and college system.

The fight for public education in Canada does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, it is part of a global effort to maintain education as a basic right for all. Around the world, governments are tabling "austerity" budgets containing massive cuts to post-secondary education and other public services.

In country after country, ordinary people are refusing to allow a crisis caused by the deregulation of international markets and corporate greed to threaten the public good. In many cases, students are the ones leading the effort.

At the 59th Semi Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Federation of Students in May 2011, delegates from across Canada adopted a plan for the Education is a Right campaign that will culminate in a Day of Action on February 1, 2012. 

The Education is a Right campaign is the manifestation of Canadian students' collective vision for a strong public post-secondary education system that builds a fair, equitable, and prosperous society.

Students have asked Advanced Education Minister Naomi Yamamoto to back down from a confrontation she instigated with university and college workers over representation on institutional boards.

"It is very inappropriate for the Minister to meddle in the internal affairs of staff and faculty associations," said Zach Crispin, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia. "There is a transparent and democratic process in place in which university and college workers select their own representatives to institution boards."

Tabled November 3, bill 18 would make elected representatives of faculty and staff associations ineligible from sitting on institutional boards of governors.

The CFS-BC has written an open letter to Minister Yamamoto urging her to respect the rights of university and college workers. The letter can be found HERE.

Bill 18 also gives new powers to university and college boards of governors to expel students, staff, and faculty from the board by a two-thirds vote-the same number of voting members appointed by the provincial government.

"By proposing to give government appointees the ability to eject student or staff board members who disagree with the government, the Minister is turning institutional boards into meaningless rubber-stamp bodies. British Columbians deserve better management at their universities and colleges," said Crispin.

The Canadian Federation of Students-BC is composed of 150,000 students in British Columbia from 17 universities and colleges. Post-secondary students in Canada have been represented by the Canadian Federation of Students and its predecessor organizations since 1927.

The Fall 2011 election is complete. Below are the results of the election. Congratulations to all those that participated.

 

CCSS Fall 2010 Election Results  Fall 2011 - Preliminary Results
Position	Name	Interurban		Lansdowne		Total		Result
		Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Interurban Director	Jordan Sandwith	94	27					Elected
	Deana Srdic	102	26					Elected
Lansdowne Director	Archie D'Souza			131	105			Elected
	Peggy Liu			256	25			Elected
	Carlos Suarez Rubio			118	125
Lansdowne Executive Preferential Ballot	Bradley Clements			157	+33 Transfer	190		Elected
	Matthew Martin			59
	Amber McEwen			114	+ 13 Transfer	127
SWD LEVY		115	25	206	24	321	49	Passed
TOTAL Voters  (9000 aprox members)		145		335		480

 

 

CCSS and College Education Council elections are beginning. Visit out Election Page to get information and nominations forms. Or stop by your friendly CCSS office.

Students at Camosun College face the second highest tuition for colleges in BC, overcrowded classrooms, and huge waitlists preventing students from getting the education they need. Now the buildings are failing apart.
On Monday September 12th, 2011, just hours after the leader of the opposition called on the BC Government to restore student grants, an instructor opened a second floor window of a Fisher building classroom only to have the window fall off the building. The window fell into a heavy traffic concourse area of the campus. The Student Society has been increasingly concerned with the Colleges ability to safely maintain the buildings given the massive cuts to the Annual Capital Allowance fund that happened over a year ago. The college now has two buildings in questionable repair, as the young building has had barriers around it for some time, due to falling building edifice. Not having this money means the College sometimes has to choose between necessary repairs.
“It is a miracle that no one was injured or killed”, says Sahra Maclean, External Executive of the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS), Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) Local 75, “I am upset that we can find $500,000,000 to remodel BC Place Stadium, but we can’t keep the windows on Camosun classrooms”, continues Maclean.
The Liberal Government needs to seriously consider how this systemic underfunding of Post-Secondary institutions is affecting all British Columbians. The Camosun College Student Society is calling the liberal government to give a concrete plan on how they will fund our Post-Secondary institutions and maintain our campuses and programs. A majority of the youth of our province are attending post secondary institutions which are facing similar maintenance problems. “How much is the safety of our sisters and brothers, our daughters and sons, our granddaughters and grandsons worth?,” asks Maclean, “Surely as much as a stadium. Put the funding back immediately and make our campuses safe again.”

The Student Society played a larger role than usual in its participation in the
Victoria Pride parade this month.  Lead by recently elected Pride Director Kelly

Crossman several members of the board held the banner on their sporty red
convertible  while participating in the celebration of Victoria's gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender, two-spirited, intersex, friends and allies. 

Kelly also launched the first of her TRANSmission videos titled 'Free to be me.'

She explained "A very important concept to maintain and to respect in others,
the freedom to be ourselves as long as it brings no harm to other or infringes
on another persons ability to be themselves freely."  Kelly's creativity and
enthusiasm is sure to make this year at Camosun much more interesting.

The Camosun College Student Society is taking Camosun College to task over plans
to charge tuition fees for High School Adult Basic Education (ABE) Science
courses. It was reported that courses that were previously used for High School
equivalency in science were being converted to ‘100’ level courses for which the
College could charge tuition fees. Unfortunately these new courses would not
even equate to other first year 100 level science courses.
A little background : On September 7, 2007 the BC Government announced that
all Adult Basic Education Courses would be tuition free.  Which only makes sense
because students don’t get charged tuition fees at High School, and that is a
precedent the Student Society intends to maintain.  “It looks to us like the
College is trying weasel it’s way into charging more money to our members
contrary to law,”  Said CCSS Education Council Rep Chloe Markgraf.  “We are
going to talk to them, and we are going to get to the bottom of it.” 

A motion was passed at the April 18th meeting of the CCSS Council stating that
they would begin by writing a letter to the College asking for an explanation,
following that up with a letter to the Minister of Education if needed and
allocate funds for legal action as a last resort.
“It’s important that the College AND the Government know that we are watching
how they implement these policies and we intend to hold them accountable for
their promises,” added External Executive Sahra MacLean.

Position	Name	Interurban		Lansdowne		Total		Result
External Executive	Darragh  Grove-White	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
External Executive	Sahra MacLean
External Executive	Rene Weatherhead
Finance Exec	Bill de Frias
Lansdowne Exec	Hayley MacDonald			202
Lansdowne Executive	George Ivanishviei			209
Lansdowne Exec	Carlos Suarez			50
Interurban Executive	Chris Marks	85
Interurban Executive	Gurinder Pal Singh Banwait	72
Interurban Executive	Kara Vandervalk	78
Women's Director	Chantal Kyffin					554	62
Pride Director	Kelly Crossman					423
Pride Dierctor	Alexah Konnelly					362
Sustainability Director	Richard Kao					730	80
SWD Director	Madeline Keller-MacLeod					722	53
First Nations Director	Zoe Edgar-Wilson					295
First Nations Director	Josh Goodwill					442
International Director	Jessica  Hargrove					735	47
Lansdowne Director	Jessica Marie Masters			230
Lansdowne Director	Juliana Sliwanska			336
Interurban Director	Stephanie Havers	240
Interurban Director	Deana Srdic	348
Referendum						509	318	Passed

 

 

 

Position	Name	Email
External Executive	Darragh  Grove-White	darr@me.com
External Executive	Sahra MacLean	sahra.maclean@yahoo.com
External Executive	Rene Weatherhead	Rene_w8916@hotmail.com
Finance Exec	Bill de Frias	contact@billdefrias.com
Finance Exec
Lansdowne Exec	Hayley MacDonald	hayleym2010@hotmail.com
Lansdowne Executive	George Ivanishviei	george_ivan@shaw.ca
Lansdowne Exec	Carlos Suarez	luiscsuarezrubio@hotmail.com
Interurban Executive	Chris Marks	quadley@gmail.com
Interurban Executive	Gurinder Pal Singh Banwait	guri.90@hotmail.com
Interurban Executive	Kara Vandervalk	kvandervalk@yahoo.com
Women’s Director	Chantal Kyffin	ckyfifin@gmail.com
Women’s Director
Pride Director	Kelly Crossman	daphneshaed@yahoo.ca
Pride Dierctor	Alexah Konnelly	alexahkonnelly@gmail.com
Sustainability Director	Richard Kao	rkao7485@gmail.com
SWD Director	Madeline Keller-MacLeod	crueltyfree.mkm@hotmail.com
First Nations Director	Zoe Edgar-Wilson	zoesomething@hotmail.com
First Nations Director	Josh Goodwill	jgoodwill123@gmail.c​om
International Director	Jessica  Hargrove	jjhargrove15@gmail.com
Lansdowne Director	Jessica Marie Masters	jazzkinns@gmail.com
Lansdowne Director	Juliana Sliwanska	jewlz_@hotmail.co.uk
Interurban Director	Stephanie Havers	steph.havers@gmail.com
Interurban Director	Deana Srdic	deanasardic@hotmail.com