Q&A: DSU president talks lockout, student advocacy and what’s next

This interview has been edited for clarity, grammar and length. 

What is the Dalhousie Student Union’s (DSU) current status with what’s going on with the Dal Faculty Association (DFA) lockout?

Just last week, we passed a Senate motion that allows for some academic protections for students who choose to honour picket lines and don’t complete classwork or attend classes taught by non-DFA instructors during that process. We have also held meetings twice a week with members of the Dalhousie administration and are in regular communication with the DFA to understand what’s going on on their side of things. We have directly requested meetings with Dalhousie President Kim Brooks. Additionally, we are exploring financial compensation for students for lost time due to classes being cancelled from the lockout. 

Currently, folks aren’t even meeting at all, and we can’t reach a deal that serves the Dal community, educators and students alike if they’re not at the table. We will be continuing to advocate, especially getting a return to negotiations from both parties. 

How have talks been going with university administration?

The primary conversations that have been happening have been with Rick Ezekiel, the university’s vice-provost of student affairs and Leslie Phillmore, the associate vice-president academic. Those have been pretty good. They’re not the people who are part of the negotiating team for the university. They’ve been receptive to a lot of our feedback about what students need, and they’ve been pretty decent at preparing contingencies. There are things where we are not always 100 per cent aligned, and we’re definitely trying to push on those.

What would you say to concerned students regarding the lockout?

While a lockout like this is unprecedented, faculty disruptions are not. This will end at some point, hopefully in a way that serves everyone well. I know lots of folks are frustrated and concerned, but it will end; it will be okay. We are doing all we can for you in this situation. The sky will not fall. I know a lot of folks are feeling stressed, but it will be okay. 

How would you describe the overall mindset of your executive team heading into the academic year?

The previous year’s executive did a good job of doing some rebuilding work for the union, and we’re excited that we get to build upon that. There will be a continuation of a lot of the efforts of the former executive that we’re looking forward to, and there will also be new things coming. We have some plans around advocacy efforts, and there are plans about how we can make sure we’re supporting societies better. The key goal this year is making sure we’re meeting students where they’re at and serving them well, because if we’re not doing that, then we’re failing our job as a student union.

What are your team’s main priorities for the year?

I ran on the platform of affordability, transparency and divestment. Those are going to continue to be prioritized. It’s really important to me that we work to make sure that living in Halifax is as affordable as possible for students. Being a student is an expensive endeavour, so it’s important to me that we do what we can to make sure students are supported and able to afford living here. It’s hard sometimes to communicate what the inner workings of a student union are, and it’s hard for students to develop trust in a student union. That’s something I’m working hard on and making plans for to make sure that we can be more transparent. We are also seeking divestment of university finances away from things that I don’t believe they should be invested in. I intend to honour that campaign promise. 

What is the current progress of these main priorities?

The DFA strike has made us go slower on some goals than I would have liked. We’re always trying to support students where they’re at, and right now, where they’re at is caught in the middle of a labour dispute, meaning that those are getting pushed to later months.

Affordability is the largest challenge I’ve heard from folks so far. A lot of the things we’re looking at specifically are around tuition, especially in regard to the labour negotiations. We’re currently examining our food bank structure, seeing how that can work and serve students better than it is right now. We’re also seeing if we can make student housing less expensive because none of us can afford to live. 

A big part of our transparency push is through social media; we’ve released several posts talking about the lockout. We’ve also set up a specific webpage outlining what the student union has done to date, and some questions and answers. It’s important that people have the ability to criticize us if they think that we’re not living up to our promises or if we’re not serving students well.

Right before I was elected, the board of governors did formally vote against divestment. So it’s going to be an uphill battle. I have been reaching out to other universities’ student unions who have successfully passed divestment motions to understand exactly what strategies worked and what didn’t. I will be bringing forward a specific motion on divestment during this year. I have been drafting that motion and the package that will accompany it. I have been talking to people who are truly experts in the field to understand how we can make the most air tight case that it really is in the university’s best interest to divest. That is currently planned to be addressed during the fall semester. 

When you get to the end of your term as DSU president, what would you be proud to have accomplished during your tenure?

We can’t expect students to show up for us if we’re not showing up for them, so we want to make sure students feel like their union has shown up for them. Whether that’s through a student who was hungry and accessed the Student Union Food Bank, if there was an international student in a hard spot who used our international student emergency bursary, or students indirectly reaping the benefits of our advocacy work, or if people just say that the DSU made their year more fun. Any of those things will make me feel really accomplished.

Is there anything else you would like to say to the student population?

My biggest priority is always the students. We are willing to do whatever it takes to serve students. Please come to me if you need anything, reach out to me, come to my office hours; I want to hear from students. If, for any reason, you feel like I’m not representing you well, please hold me accountable and let me know. I want to do the best job to represent you. We’re willing to represent you regardless of how the university acts in any situation.