Fall 2018 marks the beginning of a full school year under the University of Toronto’s (U of T) new mandatory leave of absence policy. As such, it is necessary to explore what this policy is, and the controversial 18-month journey it took to become a reality.
A number of questions raised regarding the no-electronics approach include how it may impede learning, the ramifications for accessibility, and if in truth it will facilitate a superior environment for learning.
It is now U of T’s responsibility to develop and implement the new free speech policy, one which will differ from its previous free speech statement curated 26 years ago.
Compared to its predecessor last year — which discussed Trudeau hitting the halfway mark of his term — this debate was much livelier and had more diversity on stage, both of identity and of opinion.
"306 of approximately 5,000 eligible University of St. Michael’s College (USMC) student voters participated during the April 4–14 voting period. Kate Strazds was elected SMCSU President with 171 votes and Joey Gratkowski was elected Vice-President (VP) with 185 votes."
"Compass swept all executive positions. 12,734 of the 50,405 students eligible to vote did — qualifying as 25.3 per cent turnout. In nearly every race, the majority of votes were abstentions. President-elect Anne Boucher received 2,376 votes, defeating her opponent, Michelle Mabira, who earned 1,191. (9,167 voters abstained, 72 per cent of those who voted.)"
"If the U-Pass referendum had passed, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) would have installed a universal transit pass for UTSG students, at a cost of $280 per semester. The UTSU’s Board of Directors would also have been permitted to increase this fee by up to five percent yearly, in order to cover rising administrative and transit costs."
"The total budgeted operating revenue for the 2018–19 fiscal year is predicted to be 8.2% higher than that of the previous year. Of this figure, 87% of this budget is derived from provincial operating grants as well as tuition and other student fees. Federal funding is rarely included in this budget."