#TextbookBroke

The cost of educational resources is a large barrier to the affordability of post-secondary education, accounting for around 8% of a student’s budget. This financial barrier is becoming increasingly insurmountable. The#TextbookBroke campaign aims to bring awareness to the problems in the publishing business, where students are captive consumers and there is little correlation between product value and price. In addition, the UVSS is advocating to professors, administration, and government to explore the many opportunities to make education more affordable without sacrificing the quality of the learning experience.

Let’s Get Consensual

Rape culture is a massive problem on campuses across the world. Students in BC recently celebrated a huge win by successfully lobbying the government to pass Bill 23: Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act. Under this legislation, universities are now required to develop a policies on sexual-assault response – but there is still much more to be done! The Let’s Get Consensual campaign promotes consent culture on campus and speaks out against the prevalence of rape culture and sexualized violence on campuses across North America. Let’s Get Consensual is a joint campaign of the UVSS, UVic, the Anti-Violence Project, and partner organizations across British Columbia.

For more information click here for our Let’s Get Consensual Facebook page.

ReThink Mental Health

Mental health is fundamental to student success and well-being, but it is ignored and stigmatized by many. To combat these issues, the ReThink Mental Health campaign works to create a university culture in which individuals feel safe seeking support from counselling and peers, while making students aware of the resources available to combat stress, anxiety, and depression. Utilizing workshops, videos, and myth-busting, the campaign aims to destigmatize mental health and advocate for students to get the help and resources that they need.

Rent With Rights

Fees for student residences at UVic are skyrocketing. As of the mid-2000s, BC universities were no longer able to accrue debt to meet demand for new residential buildings. This caused universities to turn to high fee increases to finance maintenance and construction costs. In addition, students living in residence are excluded from the Residential Tenancy Act, which means that they do not have many of the basic rights that tenants living off campus do. In light of this, the Rent with Rights campaign lobbies the provincial government to allow universities to accrue debt, as well to develop legislation that outlines the rights of on-campus tenants. For off-campus tenants, the campaign provides workshops and resources to ensure that students are aware of their rights.