The Association of Academic Staff at the University of Alberta (AASUA) has released a poignant video demanding that Jason Kenney stop cuts to post-secondary education. The video features members of the union telling their personal stories of both the impact of these cuts and the way U of A leadership has handled them.
“It’s incredibly saddening to hear these stories of the impact of post-secondary cuts on our members,” said AASUA President, Ricardo Acuña. “Our leaders need to watch this video and understand the human impact of their decisions.”
The video features stories and statements from members of the AASUA, which is made up of the university’s educators, researchers, librarians and administrative professionals.This video is a part of a larger campaign entitled “Protect Our Future”, which has been gaining momentum after the U of A’s provincial grant was cut by 60.1 million dollars in 2021-22. The impact has been felt across the university."
"I teach undergraduate classes for first year Indigenous students in the Transition Year Program. This is the most underserved and racialized demographic of students at the University of Alberta.” said Nicole Lugosi-Schimpf, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Native Studies. “The budget cuts translate to larger class sizes with less Teaching Assistant support. For students, this equates to less detailed feedback on assignments, less one-on-one time with their professor and TA, and less personalized work plans for success."
"The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences teaches one of the best Geology programs in the world, ranked between 5th best and 45th best in the world in 2020, by the four most important international ranking agencies,” said Thomas Stachel, Professor of Geology and Canada Research Chair in Diamonds. “In the two rounds of devastating cuts implemented over the past two years, we have lost over half (five out of nine) of our research-related technical staff.”
Please watch the video and share it broadly, especially with colleagues from across the country attending Congress virtually at the U of A in the coming week.
Watch the video at this link.
Ricardo