Day of Action at the University of Windsor

By Kyle Rose

A rally and march was held Thursday afternoon to protest the rising costs of student tuition fees and educational programming. The event was called a Day of Action: Fight the Fees Campaign, and started inside the CAW Student Centre, leading into a march across the University of Windsor campus.

The Canadian Federation of Students led the event at the university which was attended by both students and staff alike, making their voices heard. The University of Windsor Student Alliance (UWSA) partnered with the federation through promoting and using the CAW Student Centre as the main hub to start off the event.

Roughly 50 students attended the event.

There was a special emphasis on international students. It was noted at the rally that international students pay as much as two to three times more than domestic students.

University tuition fees across the country jumped an average of 3.1 per cent for undergraduate programs for the 2017-2018 academic year, according to Statistics Canada. The average tuition has increased to $6,571, with the exact cost depending on what program a student is enrolled in. The average tuition at the University of Windsor, was $6,907 from 2016-2017.

The international department at the University of Windsor has also addressed concerns of dropout rates for future international students if tuition increases. Mohammad Akbar, Director of the Organization of Part-time Students, spoke at the rally and said he finds students are even going hungry because they are looking to save money any way they can.

“We are one of the most food insecure generations, bar none, in over 50 to 60 years. Over four out of 10 students are food insecure, which means students aren’t eating. Students aren’t finding food just because they are more concerned with affording school, and that’s not right,” said Akbar.

The university has stated that the reason for the increase in tuition costs are partly due to inflation and other financial needs the institution needs to fill.

The UWSA plans to host another rally towards the end of February.