The Muse

On October 8th, over 100 members of the community gathered outside St. John’s City Hall in a call for a two-way arms embargo with Israel.

This emergency rally for Palestine was announced following the interception of the Conscience Freedom Flotilla, where six Canadians were abducted by the Israeli military – three of them Newfoundlanders.

The goal of those aboard the Conscience was to provide humanitarian aid to those in Gaza, but the ship was intercepted before reaching its intended destination.

The rally included several speeches from the family and friends of the abducted Newfoundland activists Devoney Ellis, Sadie Mees, and Nikita Stapleton.

“I know she would want us to steadfastly continue the campaign to have MUN divest into the Canadian government to end its complicity and double-talk, and stop supplying arms to Israel,” says Mees’s aunt, Vicky Axford, on behalf of Sadie’s mother, Kira.

A close friend of Ellis’s reads a statement from Misty Ellis: “As her mother, I’m asking from the deepest place in my heart for Canada to bring our six citizens home safely.”

“I ask you all to please contact your governments – any members, any people you can reach out to – and it’s not just for Nikita’s safety, it’s for the safety of every one of them” says Stapleton’s mother, Karen.

Following the speeches, the protestors continued to demand an arms embargo, and for the safe return of those aboard the Conscience.

“Hopefully now, due to the bravery of our comrades who have been abducted by the IDF, we will finally see action,” says Daniel Smith.

“We’re not going anywhere until there’s a free Palestine, and until our friends are home.”

Students generally have a list of needs when exploring accommodation options in post-secondary education. The ideal living situation is affordable, close to campus, and has reliable, accessible transportation.

When one of these factors isn’t met, students are forced to compromise. 

The struggle to find affordable housing in St. John’s has forced some students into surrounding municipalities, or live at home for university, and public transportation rarely extends past St. John’s city limits.

Though a commute is expected, students feel that a lack of resources from their towns and Memorial makes it unnecessarily difficult. 

Commuters Share Experiences 

Liam Carroll is one of Memorial’s daily commuters.

He currently resides in Torbay, saying it was the only housing he could afford after his tuition increased. Carroll was under the impression that MUN’s parking situation would be better, making up for his off-campus housing.  

“I thought it might be fine because I knew there was some pay-per-use and permit parking at MUN. Didn’t know it would be basically impossible to get either.”  

Now a fourth-year student, he has yet to receive a parking pass in the randomized draw. Carroll often parks several kilometres away from campus on city roads, but this option is only available before the Winter on-street parking ban.  

Graduate student Hannah Stapleton has shared a similar experience, choosing to live at home in Conception Bay South (CBS) to save money. Stapleton says she leaves extremely early in the morning for a fighting chance of finding a parking spot on campus. 

If you are lucky enough to score a pay-per-use parking spot, it’ll run you between $10-15 for the day.

“The driving itself is bad, and the parking itself is bad. You can be driving to campus and someone just gets tapped on the bumper, a small rear-end on the highway. Boom, you’re not getting a parking spot that day,”  Stapleton explained.

Both students say a lack of public transport in their municipalities forces residents to travel by car. Stapleton notes she’s incredibly privileged to have a vehicle, but those without are stuck. 

“Going to MUN is genuinely not accessible from CBS if you don’t have a vehicle.”  

Student Life Consequences 

Stapleton and Carroll feel their educational experiences are negatively impacted by their respective commutes, leading them to question their future in the province.  

Carroll relies on rides from others when parking options are limited. If plans fall through, he is often forced to skip class and face the academic consequences of doing so. He believes these problems will drive other people away from the province.  

“I can say with confidence that I would not live and work in Newfoundland after graduating, before this type of thing is vastly improved.”  

Like Carroll, Stapleton was often late or absent from classes during her undergrad. Though she’d love to purchase a home in scenic C.B.S. after her schooling, the daily commute has made that undesirable.  

“I can’t see myself buying a house here [in CBS] in the future, simply because of how difficult it is to get in and out of this town.” 

Potential Solutions 

Students say that more should be done to alleviate commuter stress. Of the contributing factors, parking and public transport are high concerns.  

While Stapleton thinks CBS could consider a shuttle service, she admitted she isn’t confident the town would do so.

Instead, she thinks MUN should implement new parking policies to help students living further from campus. She suggested students living a certain distance away with no access to public transportation should have parking pass priority to make up for the drive.  

Alternatively, Liam Carroll thinks St. John’s could take inspiration from Halifax’s metro system.

Halifax’s public transport includes terminals and parking beyond the main city, allowing those outside the network convenient access. Connections with surrounding municipalities would lessen the need for people to drive. 

“By no means is the (Halifax) bus system perfect, but it’s at least possible to take,” he said.

He believes that the population of St. John’s isn’t an issue, but rather that government priorities are poorly managed. 

As problems persist, students continue to voice their concerns verbally and in public forums like Facebook Groups.

With a new MUN President and looming municipal and provincial elections, students are tentatively hopeful that local leaders will take the initiative to make changes.

On October 1, Memorial University students gathered to march through the downpour to the Confederation building for MUNSU’s ‘Day of Action’ protest.

It was cold and rainy day, but student protestors and union representatives brought the heat, opposing what they see as the dismissal of student issues by the provincial government. 

The annual ‘Day of Action’ protest advocated for reinstated government funding amidst tuition hikes and difficult economic realities for students.

This year’s protest specifically called for paid work terms as well, citing the unpaid placements that nursing students, social work students, education students, pharmacy students, and medical students have to take in order to receive their degrees.

Student issues in politics & union solidarity

This years Day of Action takes place in the midst of a provincial election. The theme of the event references the tuition freeze that was acquired following protests pre-election in 1999.

The clocktower rally included speeches from MUNSU, CFS, MUNFA, and NLTA representatives.

Educators attending on behalf of MUNFA and NLTA highlighted the what they saw as the importance of standing in solidarity with their students and keeping education accessible.

Students then marched to the Confederation building in a spirited display of solidarity, communicating their frustrations to the provincial government.

Provincial party leaders meet with MUNSU

The couple of months leading up to the protest saw MUNSU executives meeting with provincial party leaders to discuss their demands and raise concerns. 

Per MUNSU’s posts on Instagram, NDP leader Jim Dinn committed to: freezing tuition, with a plan to gradually restore 2018 rates; prioritizing “non-market” housing that isn’t exploitative to students; ending all non-paid work terms; implementing a bottom-up structure of university governance to ensure students’ needs are met; and considering putting deteriorated buildings out of commission over time. 

Dinn stated that he views the university as a “public good,” which seemingly informs his willingness to prioritize students’ concerns. 

PC leader Tony Wakeham also met with MUNSU.

Wakeham is committed to freezing the current tuition, exploring potential solutions to address food insecurity among students, and addressing the infrastructural maintenance deficit.

The party leader also expressed great concern with the financial state of the university, calling it an “economic engine” for the province.

He agreed that there has been clear detriment from budget cuts and significant mismanagement of funds on the administration’s part. 

Education Minister Bernard Davis attended a Town Hall on funding to post secondary education, additionally met with MUNSU to discuss their asks.

Student testimonies

In an article published at the Independent, MUNSU Executive Director of Campaigns, Rana Abuidris, drew a distinction between “student life” and “student survival” – highlighting how students are being deprived of necessities due to unaffordability, unable to buy groceries, focus on their studies, or even enjoy the typical facets of student life like recreation and community. 

The Muse attended this year’s ‘Day of Action’ to ask students why they were marching, and it quickly became clear that some students are struggling to survive. 

“I’m getting screwed by tuition,” said one student.

“It’s f*cked up that they don’t pay students for work terms. My sister is a nurse, and… majority of her graduating class had to drop out because they were parents and stuff like that… It’s messed up that they’re pretty much screwing up the people we need most in the province.”

“I’m marching because I’m trying to get our work terms paid,” MUNSU Centre for Nursing Studies representative Nathan Ehigie emphasized, explaining that the workload is too heavy and hours too long to work elsewhere during work terms, never mind the fact that nursing students have to pay tuition to do their unpaid clinical placements. 

“Nurses put in so much hard work… I think it’s unfair if we’re not paid right from the start,” he said.

“I think it’s important that we get the fees down, pay work terms, and stop giving money to Israel,” a MUN Students for Palestine representative added. 

Many people have also pointed out that unpaid work terms are more common in stereotypically “feminized” fields.

Business and engineering work terms are compensated quite handsomely, while social work, teaching, and nursing are not. To some, this suggests that there may be a larger issue of gender inequality at play.

With both provincial and municipal elections looming, many students are counting on both political figures and everyday voters to keep 1999’s objectives in mind by supporting young people in our province seeking higher education.