Lakehead University’s Student Union is spreading a petition online demanding the school’s administration provide more support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They are asking the university to make some changes to the school year including protections around housing and income security, accommodations for appeals and guaranteed pass/fail options.
The pass/fail options would be for courses moved online after in-person classes were cancelled earlier this month.
The petition also calls for residences to be kept open during the summer months for those students who can’t get back to their home communities, including international students.
In a post to social media, LUSU says the pandemic exacerbates the pressure students are already under, even more so for marginalized students.
“Students are being left in a precarious situation. Many have never taken courses online before, and are struggling with what that means for their academic career. Others, particularly international students, are unsure about their living situations. There are students who have lost income, students who are struggling with mental health, and students who are unsure about the future.”
LUSU Vice President of Finance and Operations, Farhan Yousef told our newsroom they had a positive response from the school’s administration regarding the petition that was put forward by students in Orillia.
“The Administration has assured us that they will be applying a very student-centric approach and will be addressing the concerns raised by students in the petition. We are very confident that the result of this will be positive and that is the indication we received from the administration Friday morning when we met with them,” Yousef said.
Our newsroom has reached out to Lakehead University’s media relations for comment on the petition.
