OUSA Fall General Assembly And Plenary
Ever wondered what happens at an OUSA conference leading up to the General Assembly and the plenary sessions?
Each year, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance Steering Committee (SC) members choose a set of advocacy priorities that they consider relevant. This year’s advocacy priorities are:
- Investing in post secondary education
- Food insecurity
- Response to hate motivated attacks
- Housing
Based on these priorities, the following three papers have been selected this fall:
- Environmental sustainability
- Student financial aid
- Response to the Blue Ribbon Panel.
Students from designated schools work on these papers for months, developing what’s called principle, concern, recommendation (PCR) sets with the assistance of OUSA’s full-time research and policy members. Once the students have drafted their papers before the conference and General Assembly, delegations from different schools have the opportunity to provide feedback with explanations for any suggested changes regarding the PCR sets.
Day one begins with a welcome and an introduction to the papers, followed by breakout rooms where delegations can offer their feedback and explanations. Each breakout room includes the authorship team to address any questions or concerns. Since students come from diverse backgrounds and have varying experiences, one student's suggestion may not encompass the entire issue, making discussions among students vital when proposing changes. Day two follows a similar format, with delegations divided into groups to visit all the breakout rooms and discuss different papers.
On Day three, all school delegations have the chance to fill out amendment forms, providing one last opportunity for feedback before the plenary. The SC members then review the amendments, potentially discarding those that are incorrect or already addressed in the body text etc. The following day, OUSA holds its fall General Assembly, followed by the plenary. During the plenary, Robert’s Rules of Order are followed, and students’ suggestions from the amendment forms are treated as motions. After all amendments for a paper have been resolved, delegations vote on whether to pass the paper. All papers from the fall General Assembly were successfully passed.
The recommendations from these papers are then used for lobbying efforts throughout the year, including at Student Advocacy Week where students go to Queen’s Park in Toronto to speak directly with MPs, Ministers, and other change-makers.
To learn more about OUSA and to read past policy recommendation papers, please visit OUSA.ca.
