Dean Condon,
Members of equity-seeking groups called on the Osgoode Hall Law School administration (“the Administration”) to advocate for tuition cuts in a motion advanced at Faculty Council, in light of students commencing the 2020-2021 academic year amid precarious times. Osgoode Hall’s Faculty Council passed the motion and, in doing so, made a commitment to support a tuition reduction that will reflect the multitude of equitable concerns faced by its students. However, in the past four weeks Osgoode has failed to fulfill its promise in many ways. Not only has the Administration failed to be transparent with regards to the steps it will be taking going forward, it has actively alienated the very students that brought the motion forward in the first place.
On Monday, May 25, 2020, two student members brought a motion before Osgoode Hall’s Faculty Council requesting that the Administration commit to advocating for tuition cuts to the York University Board of Governors (“Board of Governors”). The motion, a result of student-led initiative, was accompanied by a letter signed by thirteen students, spanning three graduation years, who are student leaders and members of various equity-seeking groups on campus. The motion, along with the letter can be found here:
On Monday, May 25, 2020, the motion was passed, with approximately 70% support in Faculty Council, after some amendment with this language:
Moved by Madison Pulfer and seconded by Priyanka Sharma, that Faculty Council request from York University that:
For the 2020-2021 academic year, tuition be reduced for all students – including international students – to reflect the economic realities being faced by students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in addition that more resources and funds for bursaries and other programs be made available, and that a working group be established.
On Saturday, May 30, 2020, the mover of the motion sent an email to Courtney Laidlaw, Secretary of Faculty Council, requesting the final vote count on the motion. Faculty Council is not a private committee and votes have historically been made public. However, as of Monday, June 29, 2020 no official vote count has been released.
On Friday, June 5, 2020, the mover of the motion spoke on the phone with the chair of Faculty Council, Professor Poonam Puri, where they discussed how to proceed now that the motion had been passed. Ms. Puri recommended a meeting between: the outgoing and incoming Chairs of Faculty Council – Poonam Puri and Bruce Ryder, respectively; the Dean of Osgoode Hall, Mary Condon; the incoming Chair of Student Caucus, Akshay Aurora; the mover and seconder of the motion, Madison Pulfer and Priyanka Sharma; and the Secretary of Faculty Council, Courtney Laidlaw. Ms. Puri suggested that it would be helpful to formulate a specific request for the Board of Governors, as historically the Board would listen to, and implement the requests of the Dean.
On Saturday, June 13, 2020, after consultation with the Chair of Student Caucus, and the seconder of the motion, all those listed above were contacted by email to arrange a meeting to discuss how to proceed now that the motion has been passed. All invited students confirmed that they would make themselves available for the meeting. As of Monday, June 29, 2020, none of the above-listed administrators have responded to the request.
On Tuesday, June 23, 2020, a Board of Governors meeting was held. Before the meeting, Dean Mary Condon made no attempt to formulate a request for the Board of Governors, nor consult with any of the students who signed on to the original letter, or with either branch of student government – Student Caucus and the Legal and Literary Society, both of whom have expressed strong support for the motion. As of Monday, June 29, 2020, Dean Condon has not provided us with an update.
On Monday, May 25, 2020, the Administration of Osgoode Hall made a commitment to stand in solidarity with its students. The Administration committed to advocate on students’ behalf to the Board of Governors. Thus far, the Administration has failed to live up to that commitment.
An issue such as tuition cuts, which will disproportionately impact marginalized students, demands committed and continuous attention of the Osgoode Administration. It is also urgent given that the new academic year is fast approaching and students continue to be plagued by uncertainty of their finances and their ability to attend school. Therefore, the Administration’s lack of immediate attention, demonstrated in the above timeline of events, is a clear sign to marginalized students that it lacks the commitment to true action to match its strong words.
We request that Dean Condon honor the commitments that have been made at Faculty Council and therefore:
- Commit to working with the students who brought the motion to develop a tangible request for tuition reduction at the Board of Governors;
- Make the official vote count for the Faculty Council motion in favour of a tuition reduction public;
- Advocate zealously for tuition cuts to the Board of Governors and centre the impact on marginalized students in this advocacy;
- Form a working group composed of faculty and students that addresses the high cost of legal education at Osgoode Hall;
- Create additional bursaries for students who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19; and
- Remain transparent by keeping students updated on request(s) being made to the Board of Governors.
Sincerely,
- Madison Pulfer, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Ramna Safeer, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Tiyam Shiribabadi, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Lauren Toccalino, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Erin Sobat, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Jesse Abell, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Ali Imrie, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Barbara Brown, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Priyanka Sharma, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Roshni Khemraj, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Caitlin Leach, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2020
- Haritha Popuri, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Janet Song, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Ryesa Zibon, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Jordyn Gooden, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Nicky Kim, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Alina Butt, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Stacey Seward, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Samhita Misra, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Veromi Arsiradam, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Monique Cheema, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Sarah Raja, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Abir Shamim, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Silas Lee, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Emily Kot, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Radhika Sharma, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Lorraine Chuen, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Elysia Nocida, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Breshna Durrani, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Melody Gateretse, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Evaleen Hellinga, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2020
- Yeseul Grace Shin, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Matthew Campbell-Williams, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Robin Nyamekye, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Sajeda Win, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Adrian Zee, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Erin Bertens, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Rachel Peters, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Chantelle Hospedales, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Husoni Raymond, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2020
- Sarah Fooks, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Ifeoluwa Kolade, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Angela Bain, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Tiffany Dang, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Hedieh Mehdi Zadeh Kashani, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Shanika Gordon, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Nikita Munjal, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2023
- Kerry-Ann Cornwall, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Sarah Millman, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2023
- Shuhang Zhong, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Nika Arbabzadeh Broujeni, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Ya-En Cheng, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Arjun Dogra, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Omar Alsayyed, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Liam McCormick, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021
- Mariah Campbell, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2022
- Ramandeep Gill, Osgoode Hall Law School, Class of 2021