Advocating for Change: WUSA’s Role in Provincial Advocacy
One of the ways in which the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) ensures that students’ voices and opinions are amplified is collaborating with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), an organization consisting of representatives from 9 member schools, including Waterloo. WUSA is hosting the OUSA General Assembly from March 6 to 9! This assembly gives member schools the opportunity to discuss, advocate for and brainstorm solutions that students want and need.
Our consultations on specific topics are an example of our collaboration with OUSA. Designed as surveys, these consultations provide students with the opportunity to share their experiences and thoughts on select topics. The most recent consultation, which took place during November and December 2024, focused on Tech-Enabled Learning and Comprehensive Access.
Tech-Enabled Learning focused on themes such as access and cost of technology, accessible resources, and open-education resources (OERs). OERs are learning, teaching and research materials that are available for use in any format or medium and are free of charge. On the other hand, the Comprehensive Access Strategy consultation focused on themes pertaining to post-secondary options and information available to high-school students, awareness of scholarships and bursaries, motivations for attending university and more.
These surveys tie into WUSA’s advocacy position statements, specifically WUSA’s stance on Experiential Education. This position statement helps us advocate for equitable co-op opportunities and support systems that address all the unique challenges students face. This includes providing support for legislative protection for co-op students, allowing for the creation of equal co-op placements across all disciplines and programs, and supporting international students as they navigate co-op employment.
The President and Vice-President of WUSA work hard to advocate for students’ needs on a provincial level, and their efforts are further emphasized when combined with the representatives from all member schools of OUSA. In fact, VP Arya has been busy this year, lobbying MPs and MPPs on crucial student issues such as housing, OSAP, food insecurity, Indigenous student support, and mental health funding. Students’ concerns were brought directly to decision-makers at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill, after the VP met with over 64 government officials! Check out our Advocacy page on our website and pop by our Governance LinkedIn page to stay updated on WUSA’s efforts in advocacy.
Interested in becoming a student leader and contributing to all our advocacy work? Keep an eye out on our Jobs and Opportunities page for postings!
Anusha Akella
Communications Assistant
