Nearly 100 students, workers, alumni, and concerned community members gathered at the University of Windsor in response to recent cuts by the Ontario government.
The group held a rally during the noon hour Thursday outside of the CAW Student Centre on the University of Windsor campus.
The group is denouncing the recent changes to the 10 per cent cut in tuition fees by the Ontario Progressive Conservative government.
The protesters say the most egregious of these changes include:
- A broad four per cent cut to institutional funding, which will impact the operating budgets of individual universities
- The elimination of “free tuition” subsidies for low-income students
- A reduction in provincial grants awarded through OSAP
- The elimination of the six-month grace period free of interest rates after graduation
- Cuts to funding for campus life, including student clubs and associations
Students say they are not fooled by the Ontario government’s attempts to disguise these cuts behind an overall reduction in tuition fees.
"It's offensive to me that Doug Ford is trying to pull the wool over our eyes as framing this as a tuition cut,” said Angela Zhu, a law student at the University of Windsor. “I can't imagine having to pay double what I already owe which is how much I would own if there were no grants."
The students believe any benefit they might see from lower tuition fees will be outweighed by the increased student debt and various out-of-pocket expenses.
University of Windsor interim president Douglas Kneale has confirmed the tuition fees cut will mean a loss of $10-million in school revenue.
A petition is circulating online called "Stop Doug Ford's cuts to OSAP" and so far, 214,000 signatures have already been collected.
