In the past few days there has been more talk about tuition than we had in the past several years combined. I do not attribute that to the fact that I have it on my platform, but because it is an issue that is on the minds of all of you, all students. The students have demonstrated that already. It is an issue that affects us all, whether we like it or not. It is one of the most common things we have with each other. We all pay tuition. We pay, on average, $7,500 and will graduate with an average of $25,000 of debt. The real strength of youth comes from their ability to imagine and their refusal to be denied to dream big. I can imagine a day when the Marauders will win another Vanier Cup, I can imagine a day when the campus is more accessible-- a day when students have healthier food options, when we have more women in governance positions, when all faiths can be practiced with ease on campus, when we come together to celebrate clubs day, and when we can have a more affordable tuition. I can imagine that, but to achieve that we also need to work, that is what I plan to do. I will plant the seed to lower tuition, there is no shame in that. There is no shame in advocating for what the students want, after all that is what the MSU is about. Almost all platform points proposed to students involve advocating to the university. Siobhan Stewart ran her campaign on bringing about a second reading week, it was not in her direct powers as an MSU president to do so. In fact her term ended and we still did not get a second reading week. I remember that there were some loud doubters and defeatists back then. She went on nonetheless because she knew that students cared about this, students wanted this, and it truly brought about a much better student experience. Next year, now two years after Siobhan left, we will have our very first full reading week during the fall term. This is the power of imagination and sheer force of will of the students. This is what not succumbing to naysayers looks like. As your MSU president I will talk about tuition. I will try everything within my power, I have a plan to do so, and I have shared it with you (ehima.ca/platform.html). This is what I will do as your MSU president: I will not simply address your concerns by saying I can’t. What I will say is that I will try everything in my power and I will utilize all the tools I have to make it happen. When talking about lowering tuition, honestly, yes. The odds are against us. But I will fight for you, for your future, for the chance that one day we can have a more affordable tuition. I dont believe in “no we cant”, but rather “yes we can”. The only negative thing that could come from my platform point on tuition is that nothing will change. I have had enough with all the voices that keep telling us we can’t do it. Lets at least try. I leave you with this thought, think of the most inspiring movements, changes, ideas, etc. in recent history. How did the heroes of such movements tackle the issues at hand, did they say “We can’t, we should give up” or did they address the masses and say “Lets imagine, lets dream, let’s move forward together”. I, Ehima Osazuwa, dream that one day we will have an MSU president that is willing to tackle the issue of lowering tuition publicly and advocate for it strongly. I hope it happens soon, I hope that if it is not me, then let it be Tristan Paul, Matt Clark, Corey Helie-Masters or John Tampakis. Let it be anyone and let it be soon. Yes, you can and yes we will together. Let’s move #ForwardTogether #LetsTalkTuition
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:32:12 +0000