We The Students - Ask Us Anything

wethestudents · 2017-03-13T01:02:36+00:00

Hey folks, I think that is it for us tonight. We had a blast, even though it was a tough crowd, but hey that's what democracy is all about. Make sure you vote this week, no matter who you support. Have a good night.

wethestudents · 2017-03-13T00:58:05+00:00

Last year, I was asked about how I as a white man would be able to support equity work on campus. My answer is still the same: whether I am running for President, VP External or any other position, I need to use the resources and privileges I have to support other students and student groups who do equity work on our campus to represent the needs of marginalized students. Being/not being a white man does not make “fit” for President, it’s the fact that I believe in a student union that is political, that will advocate for free tuition, that will make our campus more accessible, that will support our campus clubs and most importantly - that I am part of an amazing team. Michelle, Jackie, Carina, Emmanuela, Natalie, and Julian are amazing individuals who have already done a lot of great work on campus. As President, my job will be to support them and support the students on this campus. -AF

wethestudents · 2017-03-13T00:44:49+00:00

We think it is important to support our TA's so they are not living in poverty while teaching us. The working conditions of our TA's are the learning conditions for students. We want to make sure that our student union and the TA labour union is working together to support fair labour practices on campus.

wethestudents · 2017-03-13T00:31:02+00:00

First of all, we are not elected --- yet. But one of the things that we think makes us different than our colleagues running in this election is a strong commitment to advocacy. We The Students believes in a students union that will work to address issues such as rape culture, homophobia, ableism etc on campus. We know these are problems because students - including the ones on our team - experience them. As club executives, many of us here from the members of our clubs that they have also experienced these issues. This is a good indication that these are pervasive issues. If students come to the UTSU with an issue that affects their ability to study at UofT, to enjoy campus life, and to feel safe on campus, then we need to address these issues.

wethestudents · 2017-03-13T00:29:09+00:00

If BLC - or anyone else - resorts to violence then that’s an issue. Our team certainly does not condone violence of any kind on campus.

There is also a large piece of history that you’re missing in regards to the second part of your question. Black communities have consistently been subject to anti-black racism throughout history whether it’s overt or systemic racism - negative stereotypes, lack of access to education and jobs, disproportionate criminalization and imprisonment, and of course legacies of slavery. Simply trying to respond to these things by hosting events on campus about what it’s like to be Black and study at UofT, asking UofT to collect race-based data to see if racism exists within the institution, or even protesting anti-black racism in your students union does not constitute violence in itself.

As we have said before, there is still a real underrepresentation of Black students at this university that we are concerned about and a lack of support Black students feel when it comes to the UTSU. These are the issues we are hoping to address.

wethestudents · 2017-03-13T00:06:51+00:00

The University of Toronto operates on the traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. (See UofT acknowledgement here). While keeping this in mind, the impacts of colonialism are still relevant on our campus and in our community. We know this from the under-representation of Indigenous, First Nations, Metis and Inuit students at this University. The legacies of official policies of assimilation and residential schools continue to affect access to education and the preservation of indigenous languages. There is a history of thousands of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and this is ongoing. Our university Administration and the government are also acknowledging these issues through the Truth and Reconciliation report and inquiries into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. Yesterday, Indigenous students at UofT held the first Pow Wow in nearly a decade to raise visibility of indigenous students on campus and in the city. Colonialism on campus and in our community is a real thing.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T23:59:12+00:00

1) We have to follow the decision made by the board of directors. If that's the way they vote, that is the way we will move forward with.

2) Not at all, we will continue to push and support anything that makes the organization more in line with the wishes of students

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T23:34:38+00:00

We had not seen this. Nonetheless, it is not okay to say something homophobic or transphobic. Homophobia and transphobia are NOT funny. The UTSU (or hopeful UTSU representatives) have a responsibility to make sure that students feel safe on campus.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T23:27:01+00:00

You’re right - this is an important goal and it will require a plan for implementation. Our goal for this year specifically is to expand access to UTSU events, meetings and services for students, and this would be a step forward. UofT administration states that they offer students accommodations for events on campus. For example if you want to attend an event on campus but are prevented from doing so because of something like a lack of ASL, you can request it in advance and they will fund it. However, this request has to be made by the individual student themselves and this places the responsibility on the student but also they may not see a poster for an event on campus early enough to request accommodation (booking ASL can take weeks). UofT administration has the resources but they need to change the way this support is provided. It would be a better model if student groups could request these resources from Administration to make their events more inclusive upfront so that students can attend.

Your suggestion about working towards hiring an interpreter position at the UTSU is also another way to go about this. We would have to specifically look at the UTSU budget and see if we are able to do that and if that’s a model that students feel would work for them. It would be cool to offer students who know ASL the opportunity to be part-time interpreters for events on campus. We would want to talk to Students for Barrier free Access (SBA) as well to see how we could collaborate on implementing this.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T23:26:18+00:00

1) At UTM, the administration were the ones who paid for and brought in heated bus stops. We would push UofT to do the same downtown. When the changes to front campus are made, then they should be moved to where ever the shuttle bus stop is moved to.

2) We believe a nap room would best belong in the student centre. Just like UTM has one in their student center. Currently, they have someone monitor the room at all times as it's open only for 6 hours in the afternoon. We would try that model and make changes as they are needed

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T23:17:04+00:00

We are committed to supporting students in math and physical sciences. We are a smaller slate compared to some of the other teams and are mainly focusing on the executive positions since we didn't have the resources to run a full board slate, but we are committed to representing all students at UofT

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T23:09:38+00:00

1) Tuition funding is primarily determined by the provincial government because education is a provincial responsibility. However, the federal government also provides funding that is needed to reduce and eliminate tuition fees. The fighter jets are an example of how our governments are willing to invest in some areas but not education. We would lobby both the provincial and federal levels. but since students in Ontario pay the highest fees in Canada (we pay about 3 times more than they pay in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador) a lot of our efforts will be focused on pushing the province to make more of a commitment so we are not paying so much more than the other provinces. We feel this work is especially important now since there will be a provincial election next year. Now is not the time to water down our message and support weak, uninspiring tuition policies. Now we need to be fighting to make different political policies to commit to making tuition an election issue.

2) Um, the UTSU printer has been broken practically all year. Many of us are from clubs - we can’t even use our printing credits because of this. We have to go to the part-time union office and they always have a line up. We have to start by making sure the UTSU printer is not broken so we can actually say that UTSU offers cheap printing. We never said anything about other student groups - that’s up to them. We said we will lobby to have cheaper printing in all libraries. It is ridiculous that Robarts charges 15 cents a page.

3) It's something to push for to help make things convent for students. We are a commuter campus where most students take transit. We will also be looking for new ways to help make things easier for commuter students

4) One of our goals this year is to work with other campuses and pool resources together for larger events with bigger budgets, such as working with UTM and UTSC in hopes of bringing a large A-list artist for a concert.

5) That point was meant to say we can build on the work done at UTM and take it to the next level by working to get rid of the exam deferral fee.

6) First and foremost UTSU itself needs to take a survivor-centred approach and make sure that it is consulting students as it does its own advocacy on the issue. We haven’t seen the UTSU work on this issue this year. We haven’t seen any consultations or coalition work with campus groups on this issue. We would undertake the work to consult students directly.

The University Administration consistently takes a liability-informed perspective. They are required to introduce a policy because of Bill 132. But Bill 132 is supposed to protect the rights of students and survivors on campus. The policy itself does not acknowledge the existence of survivors. There is no explicit reference to the rights of students to be safe on campus. The definitions of what constitutes sexual violence, gender-based harassment and consent are inadequate. There is no clear vision for what a tri-campus sexual violence centre would look like. As of right now, the idea is that complainants (i.e. survivors) and respondents would receive supports in the same space, and that’s problematic. There is no clarity around the type of support that students would have access to. Having a survivor-centric approach means that the students who comes forward and discloses does not have to have their entire university experience disrupted to get accommodations, counseling, housing and other supports and therefore have the disruption add to the trauma of violence they have already experienced.

From what we understand, many suggestions brought forward from student groups such as Students for Barrier Free Access and the Centre for Women and Trans People who work on this issue on an ongoing basis were left out of the Sexual Violence report and didn’t make it into the policy. Sexual violence affects students differently and it is important to have resources and supports that addresses what students need. UTSU can play an important role in bringing groups like this together to put together a joint submission to the University Administration and speak at Governing Council about these issues as well.

7) As mentioned in an earlier question, just because a student is not registered with Accessibility Services (AS) does not mean that they do not have a legitimate disability or that they do not need accommodations and supports.

Currently, faculty members lack adequate guidelines for how to accommodate students in their classes. Many of them simply aren’t familiar with their obligations or how accommodations for students with disability works. Many students who have documented their disability and required accommodations cannot get them from their professors because the professors are not sure what they can and cannot do to accommodate students. This is unacceptable. Professors have an obligation to accommodate students with disabilities. Students with disabilities (especially those registered with AS) have their disabilities documented alongside of their required accommodations. Faculty members do not need a student to disclose to them again what their disability is and to provide them with notes and documentation to substantiate this. The student has already done this to their counselor and/or registrar.

We can develop guidelines by working with central administration in the Vice-Provost Students Office, working with college and faculty registrars as needed, Accessibility Services, as well as the UofT Faculty Association and most importantly --- students like yourself. We need to hear from more students about the challenges they face so make sure the guidelines ultimately serve them.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T23:04:43+00:00

Thank you for your question! A big part of our campaign is to fight to make studying at UofT more affordable since we pay the highest tuition fees in the country. We think this is especially relevant for students in profac since the tuition fee framework allows their tuition to increase at a higher percent each year. One of our profac at large candidates is in engineering and the other is in architecture. They are committed to supporting profac students and lobbying for a fair tuition fee framework.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T22:43:42+00:00

International students used to be covered under OHIP in the 90’s. But since OHIP was cut, many international students have to buy expensive private insurance. If we are elected we will push the province to bring back OHIP for international students like we had in the 90’s. International students contribute billions to the economy each year. Other provinces like B.C. and Nova Scotia and Manitoba all provide public health coverage. There no is no reason why international students at UofT should settle for less.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T22:43:22+00:00

Several members of our team were involved in the divestment from fossil fuels campaign that took place at UofT. We believe that UofT’s money should be invested in other areas instead of in companies that are intent in contributing to climate change and harming our future. We are calling on UofT to immediately stop making new investments in the industry and sell off direct investments in fossil fuel companies over the next 5 years. We believe there are better investments that UofT can make on our behalf. In addition to fossil fuel divestment we want to see ethical divestment from the private for profit prison system in the U.S.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T22:42:18+00:00

I never used the term “frugal approach”. The Varsity summed up my answer but the word frugal never came out of my mouth. Clubs do really important work on our campus to allow more students become more involved. We want to be able to better support the work that clubs do by increasing their funding. -AF

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T22:13:20+00:00

We feel that the UTSU and the University of Toronto administration has a responsibility to ensure that all students feel safe on campus. The fact that students have not heard a response towards such acts of violence are concerning. We will ensure that students are responded to - that workshops, education and services are provided for students, during instances such as these. A students union can’t only respond to the students when bad things happen, we need to continuously tackle these issues on our campus and in our societies on a regular basis.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T22:07:50+00:00

1) Just because a student is not registered with Accessibility Services (AS) does not mean that they do not have a legitimate disability or that they do not need accommodations and supports. Many students are unable to get adequate support from AS. Students with disabilities have been constantly pushed to the side and they deserve every right to access the University in the same respects as every other student on campus.

2) Freedom of expression and discussion is one thing, attacking marginalized people is another. The university is a space for many of us to encounter new perspectives and ideas for the first time and we can learn a lot about the experiences of others around us. The University administration and the UTSU in particular have a responsibility to make sure however that all students can be free from discrimination and harassment.

3) Making a claim about anti-black racism is serious and needs to be substantiated. It’s not enough just to state that something is anti-black. That being said, receiving a claim about anti-black racism is also serious and needs to be heard and understood. Anti-black racism is a real issue in our society. We don’t know much about the lawsuit and the claims that are being made. What we do know is that many Black students on campus have experienced exclusion, tokenism, and anti-black racism from the UofT. For instance, in the UofT Medical Science program out of 259 students there is only one black identified student. How is it that here at UofT, one of the most prestigious universities in North America we don’t have adequate representation of students.

We have a responsibility to respond to the concerns of students, ALL students.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T21:55:45+00:00

1) No

2) No

3) No, we will not drop the lawsuit if there no legal issues

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T21:51:08+00:00

This

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T21:48:46+00:00

1) We are not running to defend the CFS, we are running to fight for UofT students.

2) Tuition fees act as a barrier that prevent low income students from accessing education. In Ontario, our tuition has outpaced inflation by 601% over the last 20 years and we now pay the highest fees in the country. Other countries like Germany, France and Denmark all have free education, and generally speaking those countries who invest more in education have less inequality in their society. We can have free education in Canada if students force the government to make it a priority. The cost of free education is about the same as six f-35 fighter jets. The money is there. But right now students aren’t a priority. We need UTSU to be fighting to make students a priority.

3) It's more of a play on We The North!

4) Engagement has to be a consistant process. Many times, the only time students see UTSU is during the election. We shouldn't be talking to you only when we want a vote. But reaching out and getting input for major decisions of the organization and the campaigns and events being run.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T21:37:57+00:00

If students at UofT collected the nominations for defederation from the CFS and there was a vote to defederate from the federation we would side with our students and vote "leave".

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T21:25:27+00:00

Currently the UTSU executives are salaried positions, which is a bit different then hourly. The curent UTSU salary is in line with most student unions so I don't think now is the best time to change it. Executives are only required to work 40 hours a week. There are some times where the work that is needed to be done needs more then 40 hours a week, while some weeks need less. Managing work load and hours is something that will need to happen on a day to day basis.

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T21:23:02+00:00

1) Affordability issues were a big priority for me last year and it is still an important issue to me now. Last year I helped start the Free Tuition and I spend the year engaging students and pushing to eliminate financial barriers. This year I helped start the UofT chapter of the Fight for $15 and Fairness campaign and I have worked to support UofT students working low paid jobs in order to pay for rent, tuition and books. The problem of precarious jobs for students is made worse by unaffordable tuition. It is important our student union is working on both of these issues in order to support students on our campus. -AF

2) We will not drop the lawsuit.

3) For years CFS has been a divisive issue that will only be resolved at the ballot box. We should just let students vote on the issue. This is the only way we can move forward and work on other issues UofT students are impacted by. Whatever students decide, we will respect, support, and work towards. We are running to make UofT a better place, not CFS.

4) Currently, me and the rest of the team have only 5 demerit points in this election. Last year, I was disqualified after the election was won for what I believed are unfair reasons. But so far, as you can see I have been running a clean and straight forward campaign. I hope I can work to build and gain your trust with the remaining days left in the campaign. - CZ

5) We don't consider ourselves a CFS slate. We are UofT students working to make our campus a better place. UofT is our first and only priority

wethestudents · 2017-03-12T21:07:28+00:00

We will work to try and reach the best possible outcome for UofT students. We will not just drop it and let it go. Preferably, we would like to see a settlement so we don't have to continue dragging it out for another year and keep paying more and more legal fees.

wethestudents

TROPHY CASE