During a September 29th’s board meeting, MUNSU voted to cancel their day of action scheduled for October 16th.
The Muse reached out to CFS-NL Chairperson Nicolas Keough, as well as MUNSU’s Social Work Rep. Halie Hindy, who expressed concerns during the meeting for students in her program.
When asked about CFS-NL’s concerns for the advocacy of students, Keough explained that the “Day of Action, up until 2022, was not an annual thing,” and that it usually “coincides with significant tuition increases.” Memorial’s tuition has been frozen since the PC Government instated the freeze back in January.
Keough also added that while protests are an important part of advocacy, they are not the be-all and end-all. “Creating relationships with the government… doing things like petitions… membership engagement, talking to students, [and] talking to members” is just as important.
For Day of Action protests “it really depends on the year and what students want and what students feel is strategic.”
As for supporting MUNSU going forward, especially given the number of vacant positions, Keough is hopeful that there will be more positions filled during the by-election and states that CFS-NL is willing to “support [MUNSU] in any way that’s needed.”
He also clarified that this was a MUNSU only event, not provincial. In the past there have been provincial and national Day of Actions, but in order to do so a motion would have to pass at an AGM of CFS. This hasn’t happened in the last two years, as last year’s Day of Action was also a MUNSU only event.
As for Hindy, she believes that social work students have “lost an important opportunity to advocate for issues that directly affect [them],” and to “hold decision makers accountable.” Particularly for addressing the issue of unpaid work terms.
She says unpaid placements are a big concern because students are expected to “complete extensive hours of unpaid field education while also managing tuition, living expenses, employment, and other responsibilities.”
She once again acknowledged that the issues within MUNSU – such as the vacant positions on the board and lack of student involvement – are creating issues with advocacy and organizing, but added that, regardless, the consequences for students remain.
Speaking to how social work students feel about the cancellation, she believes “many [of them] have lost faith in MUNSU as a result of this cancellation… it understandably left [them] questioning whether their concerns are being adequately represented.” However, Hindy added that students are aware of the challenges currently facing the board.
Going forward, Hindy plans to continue advocating for students and is already looking for other ways students can have their voices heard, and to ensure that the conversation continues.
“Advocacy cannot stop because one event has been cancelled,” she said. “I will continue raising these issues through MUNSU, the broader university community, and with the government to ensure that social work students’ experiences and concerns continue to be heard.”