Tag: CSU

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Vote yes to sustainability in curriculum!

Concordia is four times lower than the national average in sustainability curriculum, and we must demand better

Disclaimer: Christopher Djesus Vaccarella is a CSU council member

In the upcoming CSU by-election, there is one referendum at play that will ask students to call on Concordia to make an institutional commitment: to implement the teaching of sustainability and climate change curriculum in all programs by 2030.

Let me tell you why you should vote yes to this question and how we can start a new era at our university. Concordia has a sustainability curriculum problem, and it is time to change that. According to data compiled by Waste Not Want Not from STARS, the North American gold standard for assessing sustainability in universities, only 8.5 per cent of Concordia graduates come out of their respective programs with any meaningful inclusion of sustainability curriculum. The average for Canada? 37 per cent! Both numbers are abysmal, but Concordia reaches new levels of low.

This is concerning, considering the climate crisis is only accelerating. Furthermore, there has been a push for a more expansive sustainability curriculum at Concordia, and we’re seeing a ground-up cultural shift led by the CSU, the Political Science Student Association (PSSA), Waste Not, Want Not and other groups on campus. For example the PSSA has implemented a policy which brings in sustainable practices, while also engaging in sustainability projects, which I wrote. To date, we have planted 250 trees in disadvantaged neighbourhoods and engaged in an urban agriculture project. At the CSU, we accomplished getting environmentally friendly menstrual products, and with the help of my amazing sustainability committee colleagues, have pushed to make Concordia a more sustainable campus, while entrenching these goals in our policies. Finally, according to Waste Not, Want Not,  since 2016, the Concordia community doubled its annual composting, and each Concordian reduced their annual overall waste by 16 per cent.

So, while students are making changes and are pushing for more sustainability practices and education, why has the administration been so slow in implementing new policies?

It does not take a rocket scientist to tell you we’re heading into a very dangerous situation when it comes to the climate crisis. It will take much more than divesting assets and retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient for institutions to tackle this issue. The most important component is education, and teaching students about the plethora of current climate and sustainability issues. This education should aim to raise awareness, change behaviour, and equip students with the tools they need to contribute to the fight against the climate crisis within their professional careers. Issues with climate change and sustainability not only focus on the environment, but also on income inequality, gender inequality, systemic racism, exploitation and many more social issues. It is ill-advised to ignore growing concern and not teach students, regardless of their program, about these issues.

Recently, I have heard some people say that it does not make sense to teach these issues if you are in a business or accounting program, arguing sustainability is “not important” to the curriculum. Really? Then explain why major corporations, pension funds and promotional agencies are either transitioning to green energy, divesting or focusing on attracting green tech. Explain to me why the new International Sustainability Standards Board, which will, by the way, have one of its North American main offices set in Montreal, focuses on green financial practices and new, sustainable standards for corporations to follow.

Personally, it only makes sense that every single student, regardless of their program, must take classes that focus on sustainability issues and the climate crisis. Critics of this proposition say that “forcing” people to take these classes is not good and again, there is that element of “this is unnecessary for specific programs.” The job market in all fields is increasingly requiring more sustainability-related skills and awareness. Right now, we are ill-prepared at Concordia, and cannot compete in that job market.

Concordia must make the institutional changes and ensure that sustainability and climate change curriculum is a core part of all programs by 2030. This will mean more students will be aware of ongoing issues happening on this beautiful planet. It will also mean more people can help solve current and future climate issues, meaning more brainpower to help solve them.

This is the only habitable planet we have, and we must ensure that it is protected for generations and generations to come. Education is the most important aspect to help solve and combat issues pertaining to sustainability and climate change. With better education and tools at our disposal, we can leave a greener and more sustainable path for our kids, grandkids and our collective future.

With this, vote yes to advocating for more sustainability curriculum at the upcoming CSU by-elections. Let the administration know that we are demanding change, and that it is 110 per cent needed. Let us lead the change and inspire others to follow in our footsteps, and let us build the path to a greener, more prosperous and more equitable planet for everybody. Vote yes in the sustainability curriculum referendum question, online from Nov.16 to 18, and encourage your friends to do the same.

Christopher Vaccarella, on behalf of the Yes to Sustainability Curriculum Referendum Committee, proudly working alongside Faye Sun and Keroles Riad. You can contact Christopher Vaccarella at (president@pssa.ca), Faye Sun (Fsun@csu.qu.ca), and Dr. Keroles Riad (ilovecompost@concordia.ca)

 

Feature photo by Lou Neveux-Pardijon

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News

Interview with Concordia President Graham Carr: Fall 2021

On the return to in-person classes amid COVID-19, vaccination policy, and more.

President and vice-chancellor of Concordia University, Graham Carr, spoke with The Concordian about the gradual return of in-person instruction, the construction of a new building for the Concordia Student Union (CSU), and the strategy for the university’s success on a global scale.

TC:  With the fall semester just a week away, how ready is Concordia for a gradual return to in-person classes?

GC: I think we’re pretty ready for a gradual return to in-person classes. I think a lot of people in our community are also really looking forward to coming back.

TC: In this hybrid semester, how will the university provide students with the best learning experience while also mitigating the risk of COVID-19?

GC: Those are… the two most important goals for this semester. We want to do our utmost to make sure that students have as great of an experience as possible academically, whether they’re here in person, studying remotely, or doing a mix of in-person and online. And of course, as we have been doing over the last 18 months, we’re very focused on the health and safety of the community.

The deans, led by the Provost, over the course of the summer really took their time to think through the schedule that they wanted to offer students for fall. That meant thinking through which courses they felt could productively be delivered online that may not have been delivered online before, and which courses were going to offer an important in-person component or a hybrid component as well.

One of the things that motivated the decisions in all of the faculties was making sure that there were a significant number of online courses targeted to students who we knew might have difficulties being in Montreal in person, particularly international students. So we did a mapping of which courses had high international student enrollment and were compulsory for programs, and have tried to make sure that we have online components there.

TC: If an international student’s arrival is delayed by the 14-day quarantine (or other issues related to vaccination or travel) — and they have in-person courses — would Concordia be able to accommodate them in any way?

GC: Yes. We’ve been messaging with international students directly for months now, because it’s been a challenging environment for international student travel generally. And the instructions that we were getting from federal and provincial authorities were that students should be planning … to start arriving in Canada in mid/late August, and we know that a number of international students are already arriving.

But others, for the reasons you described, won’t be able to be here at the beginning of the semester. So what we have done is we’ve set a deadline for Nov. 8, which is the add/drop date, and have given students that leeway to arrive in Montreal — which is important for the visa processing that they all need to go through as well. So we’re trying to be as flexible as possible and, in the meantime, provide those students … with a way to begin their semester in an online environment.

TC: Concordia has encouraged both international and local students to get vaccinated as soon as possible. But some Canadian institutions such as the University of Ottawa and Carleton University have gone even further, making vaccination mandatory for all students and staff to continue studying or working on campus. Is Concordia considering using the same approach anytime soon?

GC:  In Quebec, the government has deemed higher education to be an essential service. And we are not … allowed to deny essential services to individuals on medical grounds. … To be quite honest, I think we are, like other universities in the province, reluctant to demand mandatory vaccines when it’s not clear how we would implement that. It’s not clear how we would monitor that, particularly on university campuses, which have many, many, many points of entry.

So instead, what we will be doing is taking advantage of something that’s unique in Quebec, which is the vaccine passport. What we are looking at is how we can apply the vaccine passports for non-essential activities that happen on the campus: things like going to the gym for recreational purposes, going to Reggies, going to cafeteria and other food places, or attending cinema events that are not academic. If we can implement those measures on campus, our feeling is that will further encourage and incentivize unvaccinated people (whether they’re faculty, staff or students) to get vaccinated.

We will have vaccination sites on both campuses, which we’re mounting in collaboration with public health and the city of Montreal, and we’ll have mobile vaccination units as well. Now there’s also a kiosk at the Trudeau Airport which allows international students … to get vaccinated once they arrive, if they are not fully vaccinated at that point.

So I think when you put together the ensemble of those measures, over the already-high vaccination rate that students in Quebec have achieved*, I feel that there’s quite a good range of measures that are in place … to help us ensure a safe experience for everyone.

* In Quebec, over 82 per cent of university and CEGEP students are either fully vaccinated or have booked their second dose appointment, thus exceeding the provincial government’s original target of 75 per cent.

TC: If Santé Québec ends the provincial mask mandate later this fall, which would apply to university classrooms as well, will Concordia follow suit and make masks optional on campus then?

GC: Well, I’m not going to forecast what may or may not happen. Obviously, that would be a major decision on the part of Santé Québec. You may remember that it was McGill and Concordia that insisted upon mandatory masking (including in classes) with procedural masks, not face coverings. And subsequently, that became policy for the higher education sector as a whole, as we see, as of [Aug. 24] for certain elementary and secondary school districts as well. The public health situation has been evolving.

If we’ve learned one thing over the course of the last 17 months or so, it’s the challenge of predicting where the next bend in the COVID-19 road will occur. And I think our track record has been pretty good in terms of adapting to those changes in ways that maintain the health and safety of our community. Obviously, we work very closely with public health authorities, and we would certainly cross that bridge when we get to it — I think is the best answer at this point.

TC: Earlier in March, the CSU held a referendum on a variety of issues, including the construction of a new building for the CSU, and nearly 85 per cent of all students who participated voted in favour of the project. With the CSU saying that it will provide a new “space for events, social gatherings and new services,” does the Concordia administration support this project? And if so, how would you collaborate with the CSU to make this plan a reality?

GC: In 2019-20, the then-head of the Concordia Student Union began meeting with me and more importantly with Roger Côté, who was the vice president of services at that time, to discuss exactly how we would collaborate on creating the student union building.

Those conversations obviously got interrupted because of COVID. There was a change in the CSU with the elections for the 2020-21 team, but conversation resumed late in the 2021 mandate — probably around the time when the referendum was taken — between the CSU and our facilities management people, led by Michael Di Grappa, who is now the vice president for services and sustainability. So the university has been very open to that.

There’s been talk at Concordia for decades, frankly, about having a Concordia Student Union building on the downtown campus. Equally importantly, we want to make sure that in the coming years, we improve student services on the Loyola campus as well. I know that’s something that the current CSU leadership is also interested in. There’s a report which is due on the animation and future of the Loyola campus, which had student representation over the last year and a half. I’m looking forward to seeing that report. So for us, how we can, as a university, improve student services, including places for students is important, but not just on the downtown campus — on both campuses.

TC: Last year, Concordia was ranked first in Canada of all universities under 50 years old. Going forward, what will be your strategy to not only maintain Concordia’s reputation among Canadian universities, but also to increase its prestige on an international level?

GC: That’s an important priority for us, because we know that one of the things which is hugely motivating for students in selecting a university are the rankings.

I would say that looking forward, … one of the areas where we’re really focusing is on sustainability, and particularly the work that we’re doing to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). So there is the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which measure how universities are performing against the 17 UN SDGs. By performance, they’re measuring not only their academic and research activity, but also what’s called the stewardship of the goals: how the institution advances the goals through its own operational practices, its external partnerships, etc.

And earlier this spring, … Concordia was ranked 62nd in the world, for the work that we’re doing on advancing the SDGs. And in three categories, we were actually ranked in the top 25 in the world; in one of those categories, which was reducing inequalities, we were ranked number one in Canada.

This will not only improve the impact that Concordia is making as a university for the community and society at large, but it will bring recognition internationally for us. … We announced in the spring that we wanted to undertake a map of voluntary university review, to map how we are performing against each of the UN sustainable development goals — that process has begun. And I think it’s something that’s very exciting, very mobilizing for the community as a whole, and has a great opportunity to position Concordia as a leader internationally.

TC: Is there anything you would like to say personally to all Concordia students ahead of the new academic year?

GC: I want to wish everybody good luck! I have to say it will be nice to see more people on campus in the fall.

I recognize fully that there’s a spectrum of opinions, attitudes and concerns about the return to campus, and I appreciate that some students and some faculty, staff and administrators have misgivings about returning because of the public health situation. But I think we have to be feeling so much better than we felt a year ago at this time.

There’s still uncertainty, but the situation 12 months later is that we can offer a rich mix of in-person and online activities. Our online courses continue to improve because of what we’ve learned over the course of the last 17 months. And more importantly, we’re able to bring society to reopen in part because of the success of the vaccination program, which was not the case a year ago.

I fully expect that everybody coming on the campus should be vaccinated at this point, unless they have a valid medical or religious reason not to be. And if there are students, faculty or staff who still are not fully vaccinated, my message to them is:

Please, get fully vaccinated. Not only for your sake, above all, but also for the health and safety of the community as a whole.

 

Photo courtesy of Concordia University

Categories
Student Life

Concordia needs a stronger focus on vaccination

The university needs to do more to pull their weight so we can achieve herd immunity

As Concordians return to campus this week, many for the first time in over a year, and many more for the first time ever, there are still a lot of questions about students’ safety that the university administration has left up in the air.

Throughout the summer, it seemed as if information regarding reopening trickled into student inboxes as slow as a broken faucet. With only four emails sent by Student Communications relating to the possibility of on-campus activity throughout the entire summer, the reality of an “irl” semester has been hazy to most.

Even now as we begin the fall semester in earnest, the university should be doing more to ensure both student, faculty, and staff safety as we enter COVID-19’s fourth wave and clearly communicate those safety measures.

While it is commendable that Concordia has strengthened its vaccine policy in recent days, now requiring proof of vaccination for many on-campus activities, this move was too little, too late. Proof of vaccination should be required not just for extra-curricular activities, but for classes as well, in order to keep faculty and immunocompromised students safe.

The fact that Concordia has only now imposed a vaccine mandate for extra-curricular activities is short-sighted and lags behind its American counterparts. In the United States, over 800 universities, and all of the top 25 ranked institutions are requiring proof of vaccination for students in some capacity, many of them requiring it for class attendance. And it’s not just American universities, who due to the United State’s vaccine production, had a much faster rollout. Many Ontario universities are following suit. York University, Queen’s University, the University of Guelph, and Ontario Tech University all require proof of vaccination for students returning to campus.

On Aug. 26, McGill University strengthened its vaccine requirements for on-campus activities. Now, McGill students will need the Quebec vaccine passport to attend events like sports games and conferences, as well as access certain residence common areas, and more. While this move was a last-minute addition before the start of the semester, students would already need the passport starting Sept. 1 to do many other activities around the city because of the government mandate.

Concordia seems to be following McGill’s strategy of only regulating some activities which, at first glance, might pose a larger risk. However, there are many Concordia classes boasting over 50 students to a room. So, requiring vaccination for outdoor events of over 60 people, but not for indoor classes of the same size doesn’t quite hold up under scrutiny.

While it is impossible to say at this moment how the Quebec vaccine passport app will pan out, due to its quick and simple registration process, it’s safe to assume that the system will be fairly streamlined and unobtrusive. However, getting students vaccinated is another issue altogether.

Hannah Jamet-Lange, academic & advocacy coordinator at the Concordia Student Union (CSU), believes that the university has a decent way to go in terms of ensuring students are adequately informed about vaccination. In an open letter to President Carr, Provost and Vice-President Academic Whitelaw, and the whole Concordia administration, the CSU stated that it would only favour a vaccine mandate if the university was to put in checks for students with preexisting health conditions, religious objections, and international students unable to get the vaccine before their arrival in Canada.

Jamet-Lange explained, “Basically, we just want to be sure that the implementation of a vaccine mandate does not cause further exclusion of international students and students who cannot get the vaccine for medical reasons, while also wanting the university to actually acknowledge that a lot of people do not feel safe returning to campus knowing that people they sit in a small room with for three hours are not vaccinated.”

Moving further from simply a vaccination mandate, Jamet-Lange explains that many students have voiced their concern about Concordia’s overall safety measures. “A lot of students have health concerns, for themselves, their loved ones, and the general community,” they explained. “We also have a lot of student parents at Concordia who are concerned about infecting their children who have not yet been able to receive a vaccine, especially if schools were to shut down at any point or classes need to stay home for a certain amount of time due to a COVID outbreak.”

All in all, Concordia’s safety approach must flow and change with the ongoing situation. However, it has felt more like a game of catch-up than a resolute plan to keep students safe.

The CSU points to measures such as an on-campus vaccination site, clear information on contract tracing and social distancing, and the option of online learning as ways for the university to ease concerns from students. These are all good ideas, and will surely lead to a safer campus environment. If Concordia started shifting to a preemptive communication approach, informing students of possible COVID-19-related changes (earlier than a few days before they go into effect), then we may start to feel more comfortable around campus again.

 

Graphic by Madeline Schmidt

Categories
News

BREAKING NEWS: Concordia approves fall reading week

The week-long break will be implemented in fall term of 2023

The newly-approved fall reading week break is scheduled to happen each year in the second week of October, during the same week as the Thanksgiving holiday, according to Isaiah Joyner, student senator and general coordinator of the Concordia Student Union (CSU).

The two-year delay to implement the break is due to the adjustments that will need to be made to the fall academic semester schedule. As a result of the break, the fall term will be shortened to a 12-week academic term, instead of the current 13-week academic term.

This change will mean the winter and fall semesters will both have a week-long break, and an equal amount of academic weeks.

Passed with overwhelming support by senate members on March 19, Joyner explained the initiative took three years of student-led work, calling it a ‘generational’ project.

Former Advocacy and Academic Coordinator Sarah Mazhero presented the motion to implement fall reading week during her mandate as senator in 2018-2019. In 2019, a majority 86.6 per cent of students voted in favour of the CSU referendum question, which proposed enacting the week-long break.

Joyner said the success of the initiative was not possible without the support from students, stating, “Students voted overwhelmingly in support, which is what supplied pressure to make this happen.”

Following the voting results and Mazhero’s initiative in the senate, an ad hoc committee was created to carry out the proposition. Joyner, who was a member in the committee, said they “continued to work with the administration to make this a reality.”

Initially, second-year Journalism student Maria Bouabdo did not support the fall break in the referendum, because it was unclear about what the new semester with the break would look like. “The [referendum] question didn’t say whether the semester would go longer or shorter because of the break,” said Bouabdo.

Now that it has been approved, Bouabdo says she supports the initiative, explaining “We need a break during the middle of the semester when everything’s intense during midterms and [with] assignments.”

Her only concern was what having a shorter academic semester would mean for students — whether the material would be condensed and students would have more work, or whether the extra weeks’ worth of course plans would be cancelled altogether.

These are questions that will be presented and worked on in the upcoming months. Going forward, Joyner explained that “Administration would work with staff and faculty to begin seeing how to make the shift, but students will remain involved in the process in some way.”

 

Logo courtesy of the Concordia Student Union (CSU)

Categories
Concordia Student Union News

Our next Concordia Student Union executive team

A look into the CSU’s plans for the future

The Concordia Student Union (CSU) elections are underway, and for the second consecutive general election year, the executive team is running unopposed. Eight members comprise the guaranteed winning team, led by candidate for general coordinator, Eduardo Malorni.

Their platform, Brick by Brick, focuses on COVID-19 measures and safety, community building, advocacy and accountability. The Concordian, The Link, and CJLO hosted a group interview for the candidates, to hear more about their platform and plans for the future.

General Coordinator Eduardo Malorni

Candidate for general Coordinator Eduardo Malorni aims to better help students with the difficulties they face while pursuing their degree this upcoming year.

He plans on addressing a variety of complaints students have had about online learning, including mental health concerns, higher workloads, and issues with proctoring services.

Malorni also wants to work with other student unions to demand a change in tuition fees, considering how many students “are not feeling like the quality [of education while remote] is the same as it was in the past.”

Part of their platform will also be supporting students that would not feel comfortable returning to campus in the fall, and to help with the return to in-person activities on campus, when that time comes.

Malorni, who’s been a part of the CSU for over two years, said one of the greatest things he and other members of the CSU helped to achieve was the pass/fail option for students last year. The same year, however, several councillors resigned, citing a toxic environment.

“Those were some of my friends who resigned,” said Malorni. “I think it’s very important to fix that.”

He said he will continue to push for an affirmative action program in the CSU, and have more discussions with racialized minorities for their input on what else the union could change and provide.

This year, he wants to increase student involvement in the CSU.

“By far the biggest struggle we’re going to have is trying to improve upon our recruitment,” said Malorni.

One of the ways he wants to tackle the issue of increasing student involvement is by improving the branding of CSU services on campus. Malorni said he has seen many students wrongly attribute CSU services to the university, or just outright not know that the CSU is behind several initiatives on campus.

He said he feels confident that his team can tackle these issues going forward this year.

Sustainability Coordinator Faye Sun

Faye Sun is running to be the next sustainability coordinator at the CSU, with the objective of connecting students to sustainability initiatives and resources at the university.

One of such initiatives at Concordia would be transforming on-campus lawns into food gardens. For Sun, restoring habitats for pollinators is one of the top priorities.

She added that urban agriculture and gardening will also benefit Concordia students in the long run.

“If we don’t invest in urban food security [right now], we might not have any food in 80 or so years,” the CSU candidate added.

Being an Environmental Science major, Sun also aims to focus on environmental justice and sustainability issues that specifically affect Indigenous and African American communities.

“Eighty per cent of all of the environment that’s ecologically protected is on Indigenous land, and that’s definitely not a coincidence,” she said. “That’s why I believe in Indigenous sovereignty and stewardship.”

By striving for eco-friendly policies in an urbanized metropolis, Sun hopes to put Concordia on a green path towards sustainability.

Academic and Advocacy Coordinator Hannah Jamet-Lange

Hannah Jamet-Lange aims to advocate for accessibility, anti-discrimination, sexual violence measures, better mental health services, international students, and climate justice. One of her main goals is to strengthen the code of conduct and the sexual violence policy, with the end goal of making the CSU “a more welcoming, supportive and safe environment for everyone.”

Jamet-Lange is in her third year in Communications, Sexuality Studies, and History. They got involved with the CSU in her first year at Concordia, with the Campaign Against Sexual Violence.

Currently there is a question going to referendum to change CSU bylaws, making the code of conduct and sexual violence policy easier to enforce. Jamet-Lange said that is already a great step forward, and as academic and advocacy coordinator they wants to ensure it is enforced if it passes.

Jamet-Lange stated that she also wants to create better definitions around the different forms of harassment and discrimination.

It’s crucial to have clear definitions when complaints go to the Judicial Board, so the board “doesn’t have to refer back to a dictionary or interpret what is seen as racism, what is seen as sexism,” said Jamet-Lange.

They said that the new executive team wants to work together to create a better culture around harm prevention.

External Affairs and Mobilization Coordinator Camina Harrison-Chéry

Camina Harrison-Chéry’s main goals are creating spaces for students to feel safe, specifically creating and supporting spaces for BIPOC students, tackling the lack of diversity at Concordia, and working on better mental health services.

“I think that since I’ve come to Concordia, I felt like my mission has been just to create spaces on campus and off campus where students feel safe, that they know they can contribute and that their opinions are important,” said Harrison-Chéry.

Harrison-Chéry is a Communications student and an entrepreneur of Haitian descent. She is the founder of BUYPOC, pop-ups that support BIPOC youth run businesses, and the owner of a headwrap brand called Urban Wrapper. At Concordia, she works to advance the Black perspective in the community, and is a member of Concordia’s task force on anti-Black racism.

To her, it’s clear that students see a lack of diversity in professors and the curriculum. Thus, Harrison-Chéry wants to work towards more diversity at Concordia, such as training staff to be aware of their biases.

“We [the CSU] are definitely responsible in terms of applying pressure and keeping that momentum,” said Harrison-Chéry, who explained that recently, with the Black Studies Department and the Black Perspective Office, there has been a lot of momentum in creating more Black spaces at Concordia.

As external affairs and mobilization coordinator, Harrison-Chéry plans to advance equity for BIPOC students through a number of initiatives, such as supporting the Black Studies and Black Perspectives Office, and investing in events that advance the Black perspective and centre around Black experiences.

Loyola Coordinator S Shivaane

S Shivaane is running for Loyola Coordinator at the CSU, and aims to improve learning conditions for Concordia students at the Loyola campus.

Shivaane’s top priorities include upgrading the shuttle bus service to and from the Sir George Williams campus, as well as providing healthy and affordable food options for Loyola students.

She noted that, in general, Loyola “has a lack of services and … amenities that pull students to stay there.”

Shivaane plans on laying foundations for “food co-ops,” which she expects will create more student jobs.

As for the shuttle service, she believes that the bus fleet needs to be expanded. According to Shivaane, the lack of accessibility is what makes Loyola seem like a distant campus, despite everything it has to offer.

“There are some students who are graduating, who have been here for four or five years, and they said that they’d never been to Loyola — which is so unfortunate, because it’s a beautiful campus,” Shivaane explained.

By pushing for a reliable shuttle connection, more study spaces and healthier food options, Shivaane is convinced that more Concordia students will be able to appreciate Loyola’s greenery and European-style architecture, and have a pleasant academic experience overall.

Finance Coordinator Aria Khaksar

Running for Financial Coordinator is not a small feat in a year where there have been class action lawsuits against universities for tuition rates. Aria Khaksar intends on addressing the issue head on.

He said, “I think after the year we’ve had with COVID, and of course the education level that has decreased … we need to talk to the school and to the board to lower tuition for students.”

Many students will be happy to hear this is an issue the CSU’s next financial coordinator is taking seriously.

“Tuition is something that has not decreased in forever and it keeps going up,” said Khaksar.

This is not a change that will happen on its own, since only the students are aware of the realities of online learning.

“It’s something that is very difficult for the school to understand, because for them the education that we’re getting online right now is the same that we would have in person,” said Khaksar.

Student Life Coordinator Malcolm Asselin

Student Life Coordinator is a challenging position in the midst of an academic year like none other. But challenges are what make life interesting, and Malcolm Asselin is excited to revive the student body.

He is prepared for the realities of next year, saying, “I want to be ready for both an online and in-person environment, just because I think it’s good to be prepared.” But this will not stop his goal of reaching students.

“I think a big challenge is, obviously, getting our information [on student events] to be interpreted and centralized, [because it] is key to reaching as many students as possible,” said Asselin.

Once students are informed, they can start participating in student-led events, such as Concordia’s Got Talent, an interdisciplinary event that is hosted by faculty associations collaboratively.

“It was the first time that all faculty associations collaborated together for an event, and we had an amazing engagement, students were involved. There was like some type of community being built here,” said Asselin.

For the coming year, one of his goals will be to bring together all associations at Concordia to work together in gathering the student body. He said, “I want more work like that, getting faculty associations to collaborate together for events.”

Internal Affairs Coordinator Harrison Kirshner

Harrison Kirshner is running to be the next internal affairs coordinator at the CSU, and hopes to concentrate on elevating clubs under the student association’s mandate.

Kirshner wants to help develop clubs by increasing their recruitment and getting the CSU more directly involved, “mak[ing] it easier for clubs to recruit, because that is really something that’s difficult during the online environment.”

Some of the clubs under the CSU’s mandate are Concordia Tennis Team, the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the Concordia Debate Society (CDS) and dozens more.

He is also looking into making a Facebook page for CSU clubs to post material they would like the CSU to advertise. The CSU would then be able to advertise their clubs on the newsletter, on their page, on their social media and more.

This could help get the university back on its feet when we come back to in-person learning. He said, “I believe that incorporating club recruitment into those mechanisms is something that we should do.”

 

Logo courtesy of the Concordia Student Union (CSU)

Categories
News

The Black Student Union utilizes its social media to educate the Concordia student body

How four young women started the organization

Concordia students Amaria Phillips, Lorry Joseph, Tanou Bah and Ernithe Edmond were all shocked to see there was no Black club or union at Concordia University.

“We were like, ‘Wait a minute, there’s no actual like, Black club?’ It’s either Caribbean or African? But there’s not one for just Black people,” said Phillips.

For example, McGill, the other anglophone university in Montreal, does have a Black Student Network, which acts similarly to a union. Before the BSU initiative, this overarching support would fall under the Concordia Student Union’s responsibilities.

Phillips said, “We realized that, really, there was no Black Student Union period, then we kind of like changed our minds and we said, ‘Okay, let’s just do a Black Student Union’ … It’s going to be something that’s actually going to advocate for students.”

“We kind of found a good batch of people to help the BSU take off … We’re so like-minded,” said Phillips.

The process of becoming an official student union at Concordia is a complicated one.

“We put a lot of focus in establishing [the BSU],” said Phillips. Tired of wasting time trying to establish themselves, the BSU decided to create its own path for representation.

Now, almost a year later, they have grown their team to 13 students who help run the day-to-day operations, just by asking who wanted to be involved.

“We put something on social media to ask if anyone wants to join the team. And yeah, a lot of people were DM’ing back and saying ‘Yeah, I’m interested,’” said Phillips.

The BSU’s main platform is their social media — mainly Instagram. Run by Kyla Renee Jallow and Beza Getachew, the BSU is able to spread awareness on Black issues and educate their followers on Black Canadian History.

Phillips is excited to see the growth that comes along with the bigger team. She said, “Since we decided to start the executive team, our Instagram grew from, I think five hundred to now nine hundred something in a month.”

The increase in posts also helped grow their following. On the heels of Black History Month, Phillips does not plan to slow down the flow of information shared on the page. She said, “We’ve gotten so many messages of people saying, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that,’ or ‘I really wish that I would have known that before, that it was taught in schools.’”

The executive team decided to extend Black History Month to Black History Year, in order to educate and highlight Black history and Black people in general, because “Black History is everyone’s history,” said Phillips.

“There’s so many things we didn’t get to cover for the month,” said Phillips, so may as well continue to put an emphasis on reteaching ourselves to our history.

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News

The Woodnote gives an update to the CSU

Concordia’s housing co-op gives an update

An update on Concordia’s housing co-op, The Woodnote, was given at the Concordia Student Union (CSU) meeting on March 10.

The Woodnote was first proposed to the CSU in 2014. According to its website, it is a non-profit organization that aims to facilitate access to affordable, inclusive housing for Concordia students. The co-op is the first of its kind in Montreal.

Michèle Le Moëligou, who gave the update during the CSU meeting, is the director of operations and marketing at L’Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE), a non-profit that promotes student housing in Quebec.

According to her update, The Woodnote was supposed to open in July 2020, but, because of COVID-19, there were delays in the building’s construction that pushed the official opening to September 2020.

Since then, over 140 tenants have lived at The Woodnote. It has a mix of studio, two bedroom and four bedroom apartments, and there is one family currently living there, said Le Moëligou during the meeting.

The update by Le Moëligou showed that 88 per cent of the tenants are from Concordia, with the rest being a mix of students from McGill, UQAM, and other universities. Most of the tenants have a yearly income of less than $12,000, Le Moëligou stated, showing the need for affordable housing.

Le Moëligou said at the meeting that The Woodnote is currently signing contracts with other universities to build similar models of student housing.

“This is the CSU’s baby, it’s been passed down from generation to generation [of CSU councils],” said Isaiah Joyner, the general coordinator of the CSU, at the meeting. There is a priority leasing period for Concordia students until the end of March, after which leasing will open up to students from other Montreal universities.

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News

Referendum question on change to CSU bylaws

CSU wants to change bylaws to allow easier removal of councilors who committed misconduct

The Concordia Student Union (CSU) is sending a question for referendum to change bylaws regarding the CSU Code of Conduct and Sexual Violence and Safer Spaces Policy, ensuring that these regulations are cohesive with the CSU bylaws.

According to Isaiah Joyner, the general coordinator of the CSU, the Sexual Violence and Safer Spaces Policy and the Code of Conduct don’t properly reflect the bylaws. This means that if there is a dispute, or a councillor violates the regulations, the process is tedious to remove them from the CSU.

The questions going to referendum will ask students if they support two changes to the bylaws, allowing for easier enforcement of the Sexual Violence and Safer Spaces Policy and the Code of Conduct.

Joyner explained that the proposed changes will allow for a more streamlined way to remove councillors, where the issue will be brought to the Judicial Board or another CSU committee “empowered by such policy and Code of Conduct.”

As an independent and impartial branch of the CSU, the Judicial board has the mandate to pass judgement on cases brought before them. They interpret the bylaws and standing regulations, and judge over a myriad of issues.

The motion to put this change to referendum was made on Feb. 17 during a special council meeting, which, according to Joyner, is the only time council can change to the bylaws.

Bylaws are the governing rules of an organization. Meaning that no matter the policy or regulation, if there is a dispute, council must defer to the bylaws. However, these bylaws currently disagree with the Code of Conduct and Sexual Violence and Safer Spaces Policy.

For the CSU to implement certain rules, such as changes to the bylaws, the change must be put on referendum, where students will vote on whether they support the modification. The upcoming referendum, which will include several questions for students to vote on, will be held during the CSU’s general election period in November.

“There is no such thing as a perfect policy,” said Joyner. “But this is the first step towards a better and more accountable CSU for serious issues.”

The new proposed system will have the Judicial Board make a decision on the issue and then send a recommended action to the CSU.

“If the Judicial Board or other committee so empowered by such policy or Code of Conduct determines that a Representative or an Executive committed a misconduct under such policy or under the Code of Conduct, and determines that the appropriate sanction for such misconduct is removal from office, then, the Committee [Judicial Board] shall prepare and present to the Council of Representatives [CSU] a report of its findings and recommended sanctions,” states one of the proposed amendments to the bylaws.

When asked if the common claims of the CSU being a toxic environment had a role in creating this new system to remove councillors who committed misconduct, Joyner said it was not.

“This is something that should have taken place a long time ago,” he said. “This has been a long standing issue, so now it is finally being put to rest and resolved”

Joyner stated that one of the goals of this new proposed system will be for the CSU to be a safer and better environment for people that want to participate in the union.

 

Graphic courtesy of the Concordia Student Union (CSU)

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Concordia Student Union News

Addressing discrimination in the CSU

The CSU is creating letters apologizing and acknowledging past and ongoing discrimination

A motion to create four letters that apologize, acknowledge, and address the issue of racism, anti-semitism, sexism, and queerphobia in the Concordia Student Union (CSU) was passed on Feb. 10. These letters will be published at the end of each month from February to May.

The CSU has had several councillors who have said they have faced instances of discrimination and racism against councillors, leading many Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) members to resign. Eduardo Malorni, the CSU’s student life coordinator who came up with the idea of the letters, sees them as a way to try to remedy this issue, and is helping facilitate their creation alongside the executive team and other CSU members. Malorni hopes the letters will help fix this issue of discimination in the CSU.

“If you look at the councillors that have resigned, many are members of the BIPOC community,” said Malorni, who explained that many members that leave the CSU don’t want to rejoin since they see no change, and the issue was swept under the rug.

On March 13, 2019, former CSU internal coordinator, Princess Somefun, said she resigned due to the toxic environment and online harassment.

“The union that claims to want to empower marginalized and racialized folks has let me down due to their negligence,” said Somefun at the CSU’s meeting in 2019.

On Sept. 6, 2020, former councillor Paige Beaulieu said they resigned due to feeling unsafe in the work environment. According to an article in The Link, Beaulieu, who uses they/them pronouns, said they were mocked for their gender identity by another councillor. In the article Beaulieu explained that it is common for jokes about racism, white supremacy, sexism and transphobia to be made by some CSU councillors.

Former councillor Ahmadou Sakho said he resigned on Sept. 20, 2020, due to how difficult it was to pass motions relating to diversity. In an article by The Link, Sakho stated that it was like an arm wrestle to get councillors to implement measures that would improve the lack of diversity on the CSU.

Former councillor Christopher Kalafatidis resigned during a meeting on Aug. 26, 2020. Earlier in the meeting, Kalafatidis had accused Isaiah Joyner, the general coordinator of the CSU and a person of colour, of refusing to denounce the KKK when Joyner suggested changing a motion from denouncing the KKK to a broader stance on anti-racism.

Honestly, [it was] one of the most racist things that has ever been said to me in a professional context,” said Joyner in an interview with The Concordian.

“It happens year after year and literally nothing has changed. Not our accountability procedures or the way we approach it,” said Malorni.

Malorni explained that he came up with the idea for the letters because he saw the Jewish, BIPOC, and queer CSU councillors were feeling hurt and that their message wasn’t getting across.

“If these councillors are feeling they aren’t being heard and acknowledged, imagine what it is like for the students outside of council,” he said.

“The first thing the CSU should do is apologize, that’s what you do when you are wrong, you apologize,” said Malorni. He explained that the goal of these letters is to hold the CSU accountable for past instances of discimination, and then move forward by ensuring measures of diversity and inclusivity.

“The letters are definitely, if alone, superficial. Part of the letter is going to be actionable steps,” he said. “If a year from now, nothing has changed, then the letters were superficial and completely failed.”

Malorni explained that while these letters will be apologizing for things that the current CSU council has not necessarily done, it is important for the CSU to take accountability for past councillors’ actions.

He stated that this has to be a communal effort, from the CSU as a whole. And that by acknowledging it, the CSU can take the next step, which is fixing the issue.

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News

Concordia professor uses racial slur during a class

The Black Student Union advocates for students to be heard

 

On Feb. 3, just a few days into Black History Month, a Concordia faculty member who guest lectured in an undisclosed class said the N-word. The faculty member and the class in which the incident took place have not been named in order to avoid any ill-treatment.

Pierrette Manege, a student in Women’s Studies and Immigration Studies, and Amanda Asomani-Nyarko, an English Literature major, came forward last week after hearing the slur uttered in their class room.

They said that during a conversation pertaining to feminism and the power that certain words hold, the white lecturer gave a trigger warning and then listed a couple of words that could be considered offensive.

“She was like, ‘oh, words such as coloured’, and then she said the N-word, and then she said Black … It was just words that targeted the Black community,” said Manege.

Surprised and confused, Manege recognized that this was not okay with her.

“I’ve had instances where I haven’t said anything and I felt really guilty. So this time I was like, I’m going to put it into the chat and just let her know that I don’t feel comfortable with what she just said. Specifically, her saying the N-word fully as a white woman,” said Manege.

Asomani-Nyarkowhen noted this isn’t the first time she’s heard a professor say the N-word in class.

Reflecting on this particular incident, she said, “I was numb, and then my numbness turned into anger, and then confusion as to why this is happening. And then I wanted to say something, but then I also felt like, they’re gonna think I’m just being sensitive or the angry Black woman, you know?”

In the end, Asomani-Nyarko decided to express her agreement with Manege’s comment in the chat, stating the two were not okay with a white professor using the N-word in any context.

When the speaker saw that there were messages in the chat, she asked them to either turn their mics on or she’d read the messages aloud. When she got to Manege and Asomani-Nyarko’s comments, the speaker got “visibly uncomfortable,” said Manege.

She said, “She became very defensive, and, in her defense, decided to justify her use of that word.”

Often, white professors will use the ‘academic context’ armour to get away with saying this slur in classrooms. Amaria Phillips, a co-founder and president of the Black Student Union disagrees with this defence.

She said, “There’s no tolerance, not even in an academic setting to say, a slur that …  not only has been used in the past, but it’s still used in the present. It’s still used now, in this day and age against Black people, to demean them and to hurt them.”

Not only does this seem like common sense, said Phillips, but in the political climate that we find ourselves in — with the uprise of the Black Lives Matter movement and now during Black History Month — Phillips finds it unacceptable that Black students should have to feel unsafe in classrooms.

Phillips added that Black students are already discriminated against outside of school. She added, “Coming to classes, still [having to] hear the N-word, and then be told, ‘Oh, your opinion doesn’t matter about the N-word.’”

Phillips spoke about how the N-word never needs to be said out loud. She said, “Why not just say “the N-word”…. I don’t understand why you have to pronounce the whole word. And again, it goes back to kind of like proving that [white professors] could do it.”

Tanou Bah, co-founder and Vice President of the BSU, and Phillips explained why this word should be banned from campus. Phillips said, “I think that Black students especially, and Black people in the Black community have been telling non-Black people ‘can you stop’ for years, and yet, just again, it’s like they don’t care.”

Concordia University has responded to this incident, stating, “Our goal is to work collaboratively towards a resolution and prevention plan that recognizes the concerns and experiences of our students and supports the discussion of difficult knowledge.”

They have implemented the Black Perspectives Office and a Task Force on Anti-Black Racism, in an effort to give Black students the agency they deserve. While these have been helpful, the Black Student Union, a non-profit organization that is not currently registered with the CSU, has taken the main stage in advocating for Manege and Asomani-Nyarko, as well as other Black students.

 

The BSU’s role at Concordia 

 

At Concordia, all undergraduate clubs and fee levy groups (one funded by students for students) fall under the CSU’s umbrella. These groups have to register through the CSU.

For the BSU, this process has yet to take place. Phillips explained that when the idea for the student association came to mind, the initial goal was to form a group to celebrate and advocate for Black students with no ethnic specificity.

She said, “So there was just one for Caribbean or African [students]. But there was not one for, you know, Black people, and Black students. And like, if you are American, where do you fall into?”

The group recognized that many predominantly white universities have Black student unions, or something similar to ensure representation, and decided to pursue this goal. At Concordia, this representation would fall under the CSU if it wasn’t for the Black Student Union.

Isaiah Joyner, the general coordinator at the CSU, explained that the BSU approached them to try to start the process of being a registered student association. He said, “So typically, what you would see is organizations, or like a lot of fee levies would start off as a CSU club.”

However — and this may just be a case of miscommunication through Zoom and dozens of emails — the BSU decided to go down a different route. They are currently a non-profit organization, bypassing the CSU — for now.

If the BSU wants to become a fee-levy organization, the process may not be so straightforward. Joyner explained, “Concordia is a little tricky, because one, they don’t collect race-based data … We wouldn’t be able to just levy the Black students, we have to levy all students for a certain credit to give [the BSU] a budget and let them operate, and do all that good stuff.”

This would pose issues with any students wanting to opt out of the Black Student Union, because typically students can not opt out of representative organizations.

However, the BSU is something that would be beneficial to overall student life, no matter how complicated it may be to institute it.

Phillips expressed there may have been some apprehension when the idea of the BSU was first brought up. She explained that the goal of the BSU was to ensure representation of Black students at a higher academic level, among other things.

“When we voiced that, that’s when we got a lot of opposition. And you know, we got advice, but it wasn’t as helpful as we wanted it to be. And, yeah, I think that that opposition kind of discouraged us a little bit too,” said Phillips.

Joyner explained that this is a tedious process that all organizations must go through. He said, “We gave them all the information, we let them know the different processes, so as to why they haven’t followed up and tried to do it, like, through the CSU channels … I guess it’s not what they’re envisioning.”

“We’re still here with open arms and we want to support it. These are important issues that Black students are facing,” said Joyner.

Categories
Concordia Student Union

CSU Positions Book expiry

A referendum question was passed for the points in the position book to expire after four years

A referendum question was put on the ballot at the Concordia Student Union (CSU) meeting on Jan. 27 to remove the recent expiry date on positions in the CSU’s Positions Book.

Back in February 2020, a different referendum question passed, giving all positions in the book a four-year expiry date. This referendum question caused a lot of controversy, including a campaign against it, called Vote NO to ‘Democratise’ Positions Book.

A positions book is a common practice in student unions: it is an outline of the unions’ position on political, social, and student-life issues. The CSU’s positions book varies from points such as the CSU being against unpaid internships to the CSU being against racism in all forms. 

Referendums are held throughout the year, and students can add questions to the ballot as long as they gain more than 500 signatures from other Concordia students and present the question to the CSU. Then, it is voted on during the student election, and if it passes, the CSU is mandated to implement it. The next referendum is from March 16 to 18.

The four-year expiry date was brought to referendum by former councilor Danielle Vandolder-Beaudin, who tried to have a similar motion passed in 2019. According to an article in The Link, it would have revoked over 50 positions in the book, such as freedom of expression and Indigenous solidarity.

“This document represents our political beliefs, and this represents our student body. In 10 years, maybe that won’t be a general statement. We can’t assume things like that,” said Vandolder-Beaudin in the 2020 meeting.

Other counselors did not agree with the referendum question, such as former councilor Hannah Jamet-Lange, who said she did not believe that issues such as feminism and Indigenous solidarity should be regularly voted on.

During the recent CSU meeting, there was a similar divide in reference to the new referendum question that would stop the four-year expiry date. 

Many councilors saw the four-year expiry date as a way to keep the position book updated and focused. While others, such as Harrison Kirshner and S Shivaane who presented the motion, saw this as a way to undermine minority groups in Concordia.

In the general election this past fall, students voted on 19 referendum questions, several being for the positions book: Indigenous rights, Anti-racism/Diversity and inclusion, and Antisemitism/Holocaust denial positions. All position questions passed with an overwhelming majority vote.

“We have heard this is a problem from many, many students,” said Kirshner at the CSU meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 27, explaining that many students were surprised the CSU didn’t already support these positions.

“It’s not a good look to say we’re fighting for Indigenous issues every four years,” said Academic and Advocacy Coordinator Sarah Mazhero, agreeing with Kirshner that constantly voting on positions can imply the CSU is questioning their legitimacy.

Councillor James Hanna believes that he has a way to please both sides when it comes to the four-year expiry date.

“I’d much rather prefer the position book to be transformed into something that is binding so the CSU can actually accomplish it,” said Hanna.

He explained that his current idea is to have open-ended headers, such as Indigenous solidarity and climate change. These headers would be permanent, creating an outline of how the CSU should take action.

Under these headers would be things such as actions that should be taken by the university, and organizations to support. These positions would expire after four years, as they change in relevance to the overarching issue.

While the policy committee will work on potentially implementing Hanna’s idea, students will vote on the positions book question during the spring election in March.

 

Logo courtesy of the Concordia Student Union.

Categories
Student Life

Concordia is not doing enough: the case for tuition reduction

The University has not been lenient towards students amid a global pandemic

Last May, Concordia’s proposed budget was decided by the Board of Governors and was “long-term oriented to address post COVID-19 structural issues.” The 2020-2021 budget assumes the impacts of COVID-19 will go on for three years into the future. However, recent developments in clinical testing by Pfizer and Moderna have led the government to stockpile available doses. This means a return towards pre-COVID life might come sooner than expected. As such, a crucial reduction in tuition is justified despite the university potentially operating under a larger deficit for the current fiscal year.

Thousands of students have petitioned since the beginning of the fall semester to reduce tuition. Nearly 97 per cent of students who participated in the recent Concordia Student Union (CSU) by-elections of 2020 voted in favour of tuition reduction.

In a town hall meeting  hosted by the CSU on Nov. 19, students considered mass organization and protests against tuition hikes, similar to the 2012 student strike. They stated that, “In the context of the pandemic, we need to do that now as well — enough is enough.”

Many feel as though the school is indifferent towards the plight of its students.

“I’m convinced that the university doesn’t really care. They’d let half of us die if it means that the other half will be filled with students, because what they’re really interested in is keeping us enrolled and keeping us paying,”  said a student who was interviewed by The Link.

While students continue to voice their concerns, Concordia’s current budget leaves little to no room for financial leniency towards them.

According to Fiona Harrison-Roberts, the outgoing finance coordinator of the Journalism Student Association (JSA), “Concordia will be increasing the price of tuition this year as opposed to reducing tuition.”

“COVID-19[‘s] recurrent and structural impact will need to be integrated into the budget model for fiscal years 2021-2022 and thereafter,” as mentioned in the budget’s PDF document.

With a bulk of students shifting from full-time to part-time as well as a decline in first-year students, Concordia experienced an expected loss of revenue as a result of COVID-19.

“The drop is attributable to lost income from on-campus activities such as residence room rentals, parking and conferences, and diminished tuition revenue because of a decline in international student registrations, particularly at the graduate level,” said Concordia’s President and Vice-Chancellor Graham Carr in a public statement .

Currently, Concordia is operating under a deficit of five to eight per cent for the fiscal year.

“It is a large amount; however, the figures are similar to what the Government of Quebec has invested in proportion to its own budget to address the COVID crisis,” Carr added.

While Concordia is using the government’s actions to justify their current expenditures, the question to be asked is whether comparing themselves to a provincial government that has not done enough in the face of COVID-19 is a smart thing to do.

Regardless, as the student body grows more restless and with vaccines available this upcoming year, a “three-year financial plan” to combat the effects of COVID-19 becomes less pertinent. Students continue their uphill battle this year in paying rent and tuition, working, and studying through “Zoom University,” with little to no financial relief from their institution.

Concordia boasts of a “solid financial track record” in reference to their “balanced budget for 2019-20” after public funding cuts forced deficits for many years.

“In 2019-2020, before COVID, we had a balanced budget for the first time in six years,” stated Carr.

While it may be a commendable feat for some, Concordia’s members should ask themselves: at whose cost was this achievement realized, if not the students’?

Operating under a larger deficit to ensure the financial safety and security of nearly 50,000 students during a global pandemic is not an unreasonable demand. Especially when such an operation runs at the detriment of both the financial and mental health of its students.

 

Feature graphic by @the.beta.lab

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