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"OUSA" president shows support for PC party platform

lettersfromcorporate

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Joined: Sep 24 2010

June 17, 2011 - 11:07am

http://www.ousa.ca/2011/06/01/ontario-pc-party-releases-platform-%E2%80%...

Sean Madden, new president of OUSA, blogged about how students were "heartened" by the PC party's platform on education.

Here are the problems I wish to raise with the issues he praises, not all of which are bad, only two are:

Raising the threshold on student financial assistance to make it more accessible for middle-class families;

-This is okay with me. I don't like student debt but am okay with taking it on because I value my education.

The creation of up to 60,000 new spaces at Ontario universities and colleges;

-Also okay, if space is created. Who's going to pay for these 60,000 seats? The universities are already strapped for cash the way it is,

which bring me to my next point

Having institutions compete for enrolment growth and find new ways to ensure access, affordability and excellence;
-Having institutions compete even more is not going to ensure excellence. it may cause universities to rush out programs in the hopes

that it is appealing to the government, and therefore they could get more grants.

Greater coordination and cooperation between universities and colleges, specifically through new credit transfer pathways;
-This is okay.

Cancelling the Ontario Trillium Scholarship program for international PhD students, and redirecting the funds to domestic student assistance.

I know most don't realize this, but international Students pay nearly double(on average) of what other students pay. This means

they're artificially keeping tuition lower with their high tuition rates. if you keep international students from wanting to come here, you're risking

losing all that extra money and I'm sorry to make this point about the money, but it's true.

Comments

Caissa

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Joined: Jun 14 2006

June 21, 2011 - 8:22am

OUSA has always been an ideological, class based group.

ETA: When OUSA was founded by the many of the larger undergraduate student unions, the ostensible arguments were congrueny in OFS/CFS-O and weighted voting. The real issue from day one was ideological. CFS-O tends to the Left and in my mind represents the best interests of its members. OUSA in my opinion represents the interests of the class its leadership is either in or aspires to identify with.

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lettersfromcorporate

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Joined: Sep 24 2010

June 22, 2011 - 6:03pm

Do you know where I can find news and history on OUSA? Council is very much pro-OUSA, and while I do agree with some aspects of what OUSA does(get any benefits you can rather than fight for issues consistently), I can't frame my arguments against them on historical context because all I know is what you mentioned, that OUSA was born out of CFS and now uses what they call the "lobbying model."