The cost of higher learning: U of S tuition by the numbers - The Sheaf

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Thelatest numbers from Statistics Canadaindicate that Saskatchewan’s undergraduate fees for 2012-13 ...

Dear HUES3 supporters:

 

Pasted in below (and attached) is a media release that went out this evening to over 30 media agencies around the province and across the country.  As you see, we hope to shine a bright light on the "dirty tricks" to which the Nuclear Waste Management Organization and their supporters have resorted in the bitter struggle over nuclear waste dump sites at Pinehouse and other communities in northern Saskatchewan.  The critics of this corporate campaign -- ordinary people like you and me -- are beginning to feel totally under siege.  They need OUR help.

 

Attached you will also find a letter that the HUES3 core committee emailed to Saskatchewan's Government Relations Minister Jim Reiter, urging him to conduct an investigation into the shameful electoral abuses that have happened in Pinehouse this month.  Members of the Committee for Future Generations have been bravely carrying the torch in this battle, more or less on their own, for the past year.  It is now time for us outsiders to show solidarity and come to their aid in whatever way we can.  This is definitely NOT the time for us to be sitting on our hands watching on as our brothers and sisters get beaten up by the nuclear bullies. 

 

We must each show our individual responsibility and commitment by sitting down at our keyboards and writing letters/emails of concern to Minister Reiter.  We must also copy our letters/emails to the Premier, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislature, the Leader of the Green Party, and our own Members of the Legislature to demonstrate how seriously we are taking this situation.  There is strength in numbers -- we must jam full the politicians' email inboxes, such that there is no doubt of our resolve.  Also, we should be writing letters to our local newspaper editors expressing concern, so that the word gets out.  And finally, please take time to email the members of the Committee for Future Generations at the address shown above.  They desperately need our encouragement and support.

 

Important email addresses for you to use:

 

Hon. Jim Reiter, Saskatchewan Minister of Government Relations  minister.gr@gov.sk.ca

Hon. Brad Wall, Premier of Saskatchewan  premier@gov.sk.ca
Mr. John Nilson, Leader of the Opposition (NDP)  jnilson@mla.legassembly.sk.ca

Mr. Victor Lau, Leader of the Saskatchewan Green Party, votelau@gmail.com  

 

To search for your MLA's email address go to the online Legislative directory  http://www.legassembly.sk.ca/mlas/

 

Please take time to write your emails of concern and support as soon as possible.  And finally, please do share this email as widely as you possibly can among your personal social network, encouraging your contacts to also get involved in this letter-writing campaign.

 

In solidarity,

The HUES3 core committee

 

The Dominion Article: Green Bitumen?!

How is the University of Saskatchewan aiding nuclear development for tar sands extraction? Hande and Bigland-Pritchard explore the issue in The Dominion's latest issue.

"Largely outside public purview, and in close collaboration with the University administration, the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation (CCNI) was established in 2011 with $30 million of government seed money, as was reported in Briarpatch earlier this year. In the CCNI Business Framework, the government establishes that CCNI must meet expectations for nuclear industry enhancement over the next seven years. In a linked move, the Hitachi business group was also funded to conduct "research into the design and feasibility of small reactor technologies," according to a 2011 Saskatchewan government news release."

Read more...

Statement of solidarity with the people of Québec

Statement of solidarity with the people of Québec

As organizers, activists and members of marginalized communities we are well aware of our governments’ austerity agenda. We know our governments are becoming less interested in the welfare of our society and particularly the education of citizens, as we continue to experience the effects of corporatization, and attacks on academic integrity and accessible education.

On May 22nd, 2012 more than hundreds of thousands students took to the streets of Montréal to commemorate the 100-day mark of the movement for change spearheaded by students in Québec. As a vanguard in the struggle for accessible education, Québec has demonstrated to the rest of Canada that people power can and will change policies at the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Students have been on strike and out on the streets for more than six months and continue to form larger and stronger contingents to demand accessible education for all.

The Saskatchewan community has rallied as well.  On May 30, 2012 several hundred Regina and Saskatoon residents marched through the streets, banging pots and pans in solidarity with Montréal students, but also bringing attention to issues of rising tuition and student debt in Saskatchewan as well. Our community recognizes that increased corporate donations, funding with strings attached, and ill-conceived austerity measures at the University of Saskatchewan have not benefited the student body or contributed to the well-being of the institution. The Saskatchewan government has reduced its share of public funding for advanced education, throwing the U of S into financial crisis; social science and humanities programs are being gutted in favor of industry-friendly programs skewing research towards corporate interest, not the public good. As a result, overall academic integrity has been systematically undermined. To make matters worse, tuition rates are higher than ever—increasing well above the rate of inflation—with no plan to reduce or even freeze student costs. It is time for Saskatchewan to reclaim the University.

In our efforts to address the issue of corporatization at the University of Saskatchewan and reclaim the University for the people, University Senators in Saskatchewan WOrking to Revive Democracy (USSWORD) stands in solidarity with the Québec student strike. We continue to work towards a University that:

1)   Is accountable to the public,

2)   Serves the public interest,

3)   Is accessible to the public and

4)   Esteems academic integrity, freedom and autonomy.

What started as a student strike has become a nation-wide movement against the criminalization of dissent following the legislative response of the provincial government of Québec. We believe in the power of direct action and the right for students and supporters to protest and demonstrate in public. What is denied in Québec today may soon be denied across our entire nation tomorrow.

We support the efforts of organizers and activists as they present clear demands for accessible education, environmental sustainability, financial transparency, an end to police brutality and the right to free speech. We will demonstrate in solidarity and wear our red squares with pride as we continue to connect our struggles and fuel this movement as it spreads nation-wide.  

Join us.

Please contact USSWORD (ussword@gmail.com) for more information or to “sign on” as a supporter. 

The following groups and individuals support this statement: Saskatoon Casserole, Anna Dipple (URSU VP External Affairs), Council of Canadians (Saskatoon Chapter), Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPIRG)…

2012 U of S Election Results

Congratulations to the new and re-elected U of S senators:

Districts:

District 1 - Theresa Girardin, Weyburn, SK

District 5 - Russ McPherson, Outlook, SK

District 6 - Adelle Marie Kopp-McKay, Yorkton, SK

District 10 - Janice Jonsson, Pelican Narrows, SK

District 13 - Jim Pulfer, Saskatoon, SK

Members at Large:

Doreen Docken, Beauval, SK

Stefania Fortugno, Saskatoon, SK

Deborah Mihalicz, Beauval, SK

Karen Rooney, Saskatoon, SK

Lenore Swystun, Saskatoon, SK




See U of S Secretary's website for more information...

Important Petition

Stop plans to build small nuclear reactors in Saskatchewan to power oil extraction from the Alberta Tar Sands.

The petition is really important and could use our help. Click here to find out more and sign. 

VOTE NOW! U of S 2013 Senate Elections

VOTE NOW! U of S 2013 Senate Elections

The 2013 University of Saskatchewan (U of S) Senate elections are upon us (May 6 – June 28, 2013). As the U of S Senate is "the University’s window on the Province, and the Province’s Window on the University,” all members of U of S alumni are invited to elect Senate representatives.

The U of S is in the midst of a critical transformation period. Within the last year, the U of S has selected a new President, a new Secretary, and a new Chancellor.  The recent development of the “Global Institute for Food Security” and ongoing collaborations with corporations like Cameco through the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation have deepened concerns about corporate influence, research priorities and how these collaborations may negatively impact Saskatchewan residents, particularly First Nations and Métis people in Northern Saskatchewan. Finally, a new “TransformUS” initiative to implement drastic cuts to the majority of U of S programs has sparked vocal opposition from both faculty and students.

Amidst these transformations, it is important to have strong community, faculty and student representation. I firmly believe that a representative, accountable and active Senate can provide a much-needed voice for the people of Saskatchewan. If you are a member of the U of S alumni, please exercise your right to vote. The following candidates represent similar concerns and are widely representative of the Saskatchewan public at large.

Members at Large: Autumn Carlson, Sandra Finley, Mary Jean Hande, Joseph Wickenhauser.

If you live in one of the 4 following districts, you can vote for your district representative as well. If you don’t know which district you live in, please see the Map of Senate Districts.

District 2 (Moose Jaw, Chaplin area):

Tenielle McLeod

District 11 (Prince Albert, La Ronge, Key Lake area): 

Laura Burnouf

District 12 (Uranium City, Shellbrook, Blaine Lake area): 

Patricia Grayston

District 14 (Regina): Malinda Meegoda

All pertinent information for voting (including candidate profiles) can be found on the U of S Secretary’s website. To vote, you must use your username (NSID) and click on the “vote” tab on the paws.usask.ca website. If you do not know what your NSID is, be sure to contact the U of S Secretary at university.secretary@usask.ca.

Thank you for your continued support and your interest in the future of the University of Saskatchewan.