A new era of student leadership: Inside OTSU’s blueprint for advocacy and empowerment

The OTSU is committed to enhancing the student experience for all Ontario Tech students. This means gathering feedback from students, developing campaigns and programs that address concerns, and connecting with the appropriate university staff to work collaboratively at improving the effectiveness of resources.

In the past, our executive’s goals have been realized in many ways. These goals have produced such services as the Period Project and the Wellness Centre, have resulted in participation with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, created the annual Black Excellence in Leadership Award, and so many other initiatives that have benefited students.

PRESIDENT

• Student engagement
  • Strengthen relationships and increase interactions with students by collaborating on initiatives and events, and providing more networking opportunities.
• Policy and procedure enhancement
  • Enhance the effectiveness of our governance by updating policy documents to reflect the changing needs of current and future students.
• Information accessibility
  • Improve accessibility of information regarding the OTSU’s operations and services by making improvements to the OTSU website, and continually sharing those changes publicly.
• Transparency and accountability
  • Improve awareness of the OTSU’s governance, advocacy, and operational activities by fostering an “open office” culture for students, making our office hours more accessible, and increasing the frequency of related communications.
• Advocacy and empowerment
  • Empower students with the means to affect change related to issues or concerns that directly affect them as post-secondary students, including, but not limited to, food insecurity, transit, housing, and well-being.
• Partnerships and community
  • Enrich allyship with community partners and stakeholders to better address community-based needs and concerns.
• Organizational growth
  • Explore new means of generating income and sponsorship to off-set costs and secure the union’s financial sustainability.

VP DOWNTOWN

• Advocacy
  • Continuing to advocate to the university for a dedicated off-campus housing coordinator to address student housing concerns.
  • Find long-term solutions to food accessibility for students facing food insecurity.
  • Improve accessibility at 61 Charles for those with mobility needs.
• Student engagement
  • Improve communication channels so that students are aware of the events and services available at the downtown campus and can more easily provide feedback.
  • Foster an inclusive sense of community by encouraging students to participate in downtown Oshawa events and frequenting local business and venues.
  • Work with the Downtown Campus Advisory Committee to provide student-informed programming and initiatives that better reflect their needs.
• Community and partnership
  • Build relationships and establish partnerships with local businesses and stakeholders within our community.
  • Establish a Town and Gown committee with community stakeholders to create off-campus events and programming.
  • Work with the community to provide student discounts at local businesses and for downtown parking.

VP STUDENT AFFAIRS

• Accessibility
  • Improve the accessibility of information regarding the OTSU’s operations and services by updating all outdated information on its website, encouraging student dialogue, and regularly communicating updates with the student body.
• Transparency and accountability
  • Improve awareness of the OTSU’s governance, advocacy, and operational activities by fostering an “open office” culture for students, making our office hours more accessible, and increasing the frequency of related communications.
• Advocacy and empowerment
  • Empower students with the means to affect change related to issues or concerns that directly affect them as post-secondary students, including, but not limited to, food insecurity, transit, housing, and well-being.
• Partnerships and community
  • Enrich allyship with community partners and stakeholders to better address community-based needs and concerns, including with Trent and Durham College, graduate students, and international students.

VP STUDENT LIFE

• Student engagement
  • Strengthen relationships and increase interactions with students by collaborating on initiatives and events, and providing more networking opportunities. I want to foster greater sense of community among clubs and club members and provide them with tools and opportunities to have more agency over their university experience.
• Policy and procedure enhancement
  • Enhance the effectiveness of our governance by updating policy documents to reflect the changing needs of current and future students and ensure that related policies are reflective of, and better support, the changing needs of our student groups.

We are so excited to bring our initiatives to life this year, and look forward to communicating project updates and milestones throughout the year. If you have any questions about these or other initiatives you would like to see, we encourage you to visit us in our offices in SHA 115 (north) or CHA 109 (downtown), or book an appointment with one of our executives.

Or you can email us directly at:

• president.otsu@ontariotechu.ca
• vpdowntown.otsu@ontariotechu.ca
• vpaffairs.otsu@ontariotechu.ca
• vplife.otsu@ontariotechu.ca

All the best,

Rai Ali,

OTSU President