MUNSU and CFSNL have announced that 2025 day of action will be held on October 1st. This happens to fall on a provincial election year – just like in 1999, when over a thousand MUN students successfully campaigned for a tuition freeze through protest.
Dubbed ‘1999’s Unfinished Business’, the annual “Day of Action” is protesting the increase of tuition fees, unpaid work terms and cost of living. Student activists have long advocated for increased government funding to be allocated to Memorial.
Students Union representatives say that provincial funding is necessary to keep enrollment up, ensure campus is in working order, and avoid student debt post-graduation.
This years protest is reminiscent of 2022’s Day of Action called ‘All Out Like 99.’ in opposition to the $68.4 million reduction of funding to the Memorial by former Premier Andrew Furey’s government which saw the University respond by doubling tuition.
After engaging in direct conversations with MUNSU about students’ various concerns and financial troubles, the government later announced that it would subsidize $10 million for the next academic year to offset the campus renewal fee, saving MUN students $50 per course.
Student union representatives at the time were pleased with the progress, though frustrated that it was only a slight improvement, and continued to advocate for fully reinstated funding.
In 2023 another Day of Action also opposed tuition hikes, additional fees, and funding cuts, while the 2024 protest largely focused on deffered campus maintenance despite higher fees.
2024 also saw the establishment of FundMUN, a coalition of allied unions advocating for both the government and the university to reinstate widespread funding to MUN.
MUNSU has begun meeting with provincial governing bodies and candidates for the upcoming election to discuss student issues, primarily, whether or not candidates will commit to a tuition freeze.