STUdents for Free Tuition said this year they want to prevent any further tuition increases at St. Thomas University.
Ariel Ottens and Naomi Gullison are founding members of the STU advocacy group formed with the purpose of advocating for free tuition for all STU students.
The group formed in January 2019. Ottens said they formed because they saw no one fighting for free tuition.
“It’s very frustrating because students can’t afford [tuition]. I know so many students that have moved back home and dropped out because they could not afford tuition anymore. The more it goes up every single year, the more difficult it is for students to get by,” said Ottens in a Facebook message.
On March 17, Ottens and Gullison, supported by eight other students, presented a petition to the St. Thomas University Students’ Union at the student representative council meeting to leave the New Brunswick Student Alliance and the Canadian Alliance of Students’ Associations and join the Canadian Federation of Students.
A paper outlining the petition said lobbying techniques used by STUSU under CASA and the NBSA “are adequate only for ensuring the slow and controlled increase of tuition.”
At this time, the group started denominating themselves as STUdents for Free Tuition.
This year, the group said they will focus on getting more support from the student body. Depending on how much support they get, they will choose what strategy to use to advocate for the freezing of tuition.
Ottens and Gullison said even though preventing further increases to tuition is a long-term goal, they are eager to start their programming with smaller steps, which include a campaign, a panel event and appearing on an episode of a podcast.
Their red button campaign this fall encouraged people to wear red clothes or accessories in support of the campus group. The first gathering took place on Sept. 12 and upcoming gatherings will take place on Oct. 10 and Nov. 7.
At the first one, around 30 people wore red shirts and buttons with phrases on them such as “fight the fees,” said Ottens.
Ottens said the campaign is important towards the achievement of their goals for the year.
“Then we can see how many people are in agreement or support of the community, so when we gather to take pictures, we can then say ‘Look how many people want this,’” she said.
On Oct. 4, STUdents for Free Tuition will also host a panel about free tuition and how to achieve it. They said the Newfoundland and Labrador chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students, Sofia Descalzi, will be a guest speaker. Descalzi, a former international student at Memorial University, was involved with freezing tuition at her university.
Gullison and Ottens said they are excited about the event because they believe it will inform students of their community and the principles their group represents.
“We hope that she can share why it is so important to freeze tuition for domestic and international students,” Ottens said in a Facebook message.
On Sept. 9, Gullison and Ottens also appeared on an episode of Pass It podcast, produced by STU students Hannah Delucry and Lauchlin MacQuarrie.
In the podcast, the producers say Pass It is for “passing info, passing points and passing joints.” Gullison said the podcast episode they’re featured in talks about the group’s plans for the upcoming year and serves as an introduction to the group for first-year students.
“It’s a nice resource for students who are still a bit confused about all of this,” said Gullison in a Facebook message.
Ottens said the group is looking forward to the end of the year to evaluate their progress.
“We did so much last semester and looking back on it, it was so rewarding. This time around we have both semesters [to get work done] and a lot of support, it’s going to be amazing to look back on this year and be proud of fighting for accessible education,” she said.
