Here's what I did this month...
ALUMNI LOVE:
Acadia University - my Undergraduate Alma Mater has my heart...sigh. I sure do miss that place.
This month, I sent a letter to the University President Search Committee -- just my two cents about someone I think the committee should look into as a prime candidate to heal the Acadia broken heart. Just like we all need Ben and Jerry's to get through a break-up, so too does Acadia need a little community TLC.
I might have also sent the letter to the Acadia Students' Union...pfff. Whatever. They're my people.
Bottom line: Sometimes Alumni need to have a voice too!
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
The National Portrait Gallery should stay in OTTAWA!
I sent a letter to my MP telling him I thought so.
CHECK IT OUT: http://www.pauldewar.ca/en/node/249 -- SIGN THE PETITION!
CANADIAN ALLIANCE OF STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS (CASA)
Not only did I get to vote on this puppy in a recent Univeresity of Waterloo Graduate Students' Association meeting -- that is CASA is now taking on GRAD students in their membership and we're of the first on the roster! Grad students should be lobbying the government along with Undergraduate students. Bring it!
-- But I also contacted the CASA crew in relation the recent Federal Budget and what it has to say about Post Secondary Education...they were of COURSE on it. I just wanted to follow up with the people who work for us, the students.
Read on and educate your post secondary self! (or who ever you are haha).
http://www.casa.ca/index.asp
Here is what the Director of CASA wrote about it:
Dear Students,As you may be aware, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation (CMSF), which is set to expire in 2009, was not renewed by the Conservative Government in this year's federal budget. The fact that the CMSF has not been renewed is clearly a disappointment to us, our members, and the hundreds of thousands of students that the Foundation has helped and had the potential of helping. The good news, however, is that the government has committed to maintaining the $350 million dollars of non-repayable student financial assistance currently provided through the CMSF, and will increase this amount to $430 million by 2012-13. Now is the time to show leadership to ensure that this new program truly benefits students. CASA has a history of affecting real change and now is the time for us to do it again.
The government's new Canada Student Grant Program will provide non-repayable assistance to students based on their level of family income, and has the potential to be a very successful program. Although this wasn't exactly what we, or any other student group in the country, were looking for, this new income-based grant model does reflect CASA's message that targeted assistance for underrepresented students in our post-secondary system is the best way to promote access to higher education. On this front, CASA and our partners are the only groups in the country who have been pushing for targeted assistance.
That said, the details of this new initiative have yet to be released, and we do have some serious concerns about the program. Though this new grant program will distribute the same amount of money as the CMSF, it will be distributed to more students. This means that the students who do receive grants will be receiving significantly less money. This new program also lacks some of the major benefits that the CSMF offered students, such as targeted support and outreach to Aboriginal and rural communities. Further, because the program is based solely on income and not financial need, those students with high levels of financial debt will receive little or no assistance. Millennium was also the only national organization engaged in research on issues pertaining to access, and so far there is no indication from the government that any group will be continuing with this essential work. As students in Quebec have also pointed out, they and their province stand to lose the funds that were being distributed by Millennium, depending on whether or not the Government of Quebec chooses to opt-out of the new program. These are all serious concerns.
With the government's commitment to work in partnership with students, CASA is optimistic that we can help shape the future of this program, and ensure that any potential flaws are addressed. This is not a time to despair. As a result of the work of student groups across the country, this government has committed to continue to invest in students. Considering that this was a ‘fiscally conservative' budget, and that this government was mindful to avoid infringing on areas of provincial jurisdiction (education being one of these); the amount of money that this budget allocated for students was itself a victory for students. This is a time of opportunity, a time when we have the ability to work with the government to develop a new system of student financial aid; one that has learned from the mistakes of the past and one which ensures that all aspiring students in this country have the opportunity to pursue a higher education. And as always, I assure you that CASA will continue to be there to serve you as the voice of reason and progress when it comes to improving post-secondary education in this country.
Yours truly,
Zach Churchill, National Director
Also check out CASA representing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knI5G4HhSEo
Boo-ya!!
EARTH HOUR http://www.earthhour.org/
The idea is for everyone in the world to turn off their lights from 8pm - 9pm on Saturday night.
Sydney, Australia did this last march and 2.2 million residents turned off their lights for an hour, along with over 2000 businesses. And guess what?! They saved 10.2% of their average energy! Just in that hour! It will certainly be an interesting world experiment.
Check out (and register) at www.earthhour.org -- right now Canada is the number 2 country (next to our friendly neighbourhood Americans) registered for the event. If you register, the WWF can track their particiaption. Break out the candles and flashlights!
That was March!
What did you do each week?
If you want to join the blog, let me know and I'll add you!
~ Hannah Banana
1 comment:
NICE Blog :)
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