News

The St. Francis Xavier Students’ Union (The U) has signed a historic agreement with the St. Francis Xavier Board of Governors (The Board). The two parties agreed to the terms of the agreement last week, after months of collaborative consultation. The U President, Troy Mrazek, and University President, Dr. Kent MacDonald, signed off on the agreement Wednesday March 2, 2016.

Last week, StudentsNS successfully held advocacy meetings with MLAs from all three provincial parties. Delegates from StudentsNS’s member schools met with approximately half of the sitting Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) over the course of two days.

Today, StudentsNS released their 2016 Pre-Budget submission, Investing in Nova Scotia’s Future, Today. This documents calls on the government to make key, strategic investments into the Nova Scotia Student Assistance Program, support for Nova Scotia’s Indigenous and African Nova Scotian Communities, and the coverage of health insurance for international students.

Today, the Nova Scotia Government announced a partnership with Junior Achievement of Nova Scotia that will ensure Nova Scotia students are provided with information about student assistance beginning in grade nine. StudentsNS celebrates the government’s partnership as it will mean that are students are better equipped to make financial decisions surrounding post-secondary education.

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) and Students Nova Scotia (StudentsNS) have completed a week of meetings in Nova Scotia, addressing issues pertaining to post-secondary education and youth. The focus of these meetings is too ensure Nova Scotian decision makers understand that students stand united both provincially and federally on a number of key issues.

The ONE Nova Scotia Coalition officially released their report entitled “We Choose Now” today and StudentsNS is optimistic about its impacts for youth. Nova Scotians have heard time and time again that “the status quo will not be good enough.” Now, the ONE Nova Scotia Coalition has begun to chart a path forward.

Saint Mary’s University students were notified of the results of the government allowing a one-time market adjustment. Saint Mary’s announced they would take advantage of the government’s decision and raise tuition, beginning next year. Students’ tuition will rise anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars per year beginning in 2016-2017. This is another example of the cost of university being transferred directly to students.

Students are excited today because the government has launched MyNSfuture.ca. This portal will change the way students, both current and prospective, access post-secondary education in this province.

Students from across Nova Scotia have come together to set the priorities for StudentsNS for the 2015-2016 year. StudentsNS has prioritized six areas for this year in its 2015-2016 Annual Plan: government relations and advocacy, diverse representation in student leadership, inclusion of colleges, bilateral agreements and outcome measures, better engagement of students, and internal policies.

With the recent sexual assault charges that were laid on a student at Acadia University, students across the province are reminded again of the importance of ending the rape culture on our campuses.