CSU and ASFA partner on campaign demanding change from Concordia
Holiday cards from students show the reality of studying in a pandemic
The Concordia Student Union and the Arts and Science Federation of Associations have partnered to create the Holiday Card campaign, where students can send cards, either physically or online, to the Concordia administration stating their struggles and demands.
Launched on Dec. 21, the purpose of the project is to inform the university of the different realities students are facing during the pandemic, as well as reinforcing some collective demands.
“Students are suffering,” said Victoria Pesce, CSU external and mobilization coordinator. “We started this campaign with the idea and motivation that students can have a place for their voices to be heard by [the administration].”
Currently, if students have an issue, they must first go to their professor. If they do not get help from them, they must contact the chair of their department. In a time where students are having a hard time finding the time or energy to accomplish their basic responsibilities, said Pesce, getting help should be made more simple.
In a document published about the campaign, the collective demands were the “reimplementation of pass/fail for all courses, universal standards for all professors to follow, eliminated invasive systems such as Proctorial and COLE, tuition justifications and centralized system to voice concerns.”
While initiatives such as allowing one pass/fail grade per semester were instituted for the fall, Pesce said these decisions were made too late and that not enough was done to help students at the start of the semester.
During a time where students can easily feel isolated, Pesce said “it makes a difference when we stand as one rather than all by ourselves, so forming that unity through a campaign was really what we were pushing for.”
The campaign, originally slated to end on Jan. 10, has extended its run until the end of January according to Pesce.
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