Signs around the Student Campus Centre (SCC) read ‘Attention: the RSU has shut down’
The Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) held a service blackout Thursday in response to the university’s decision to end its operating agreement with the student government.
Many student services, including the equity service centres, CopyRITE and the SCC front desk were closed for two hours from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. However, the Good Food Centre remained open during the blackout.
Ryerson University announced last week that it would no longer recognize the RSU as a legitimate student government, making the future of the RSU and its services unclear.
“As of right now we are still a not-for-profit organization and are still recognized by the students, so until the end of this year we plan to continue to support students,” said RSU president Vanessa Henry. “This is just a method to show you what students are going to be losing if the university goes through with their plans.”
The RSU has filed a legal claim in response to Ryerson’s decision to cut ties. It is claiming $2.7 million in damages and owed funds and is challenging the university’s legal authority to unilaterally end the 38-year-old operating agreement.
During the blackout, a handful of students and community members attempted to access CopyRITE — a print shop that helps students with essay printing, thesis binding and large scale printing.
CopyRITE employee and fourth-year mathematics student Pamela Huntley was at the door to inform would-be patrons about the blackout. She said that if the RSU were to lose funding from the university, the shop would close. “Students are going to have to go elsewhere and pay so much more for the same thing that we could provide at a lower rate,” she said.
The RSU has said it hopes to hold elections in February despite an announcement from Ryerson that laid out next steps for creating an entirely new student government. This process includes multiple votes on a new student government structure and new executives.
“At the end of the day, it’s in the hands of the students and I hope they make the right decision,” said Henry.
This corrects an earlier version of the story, which said the RSU-Ryerson operating agreement has been in place for 52 years.
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