by Lexey Burns, Editor-in-Chief
Worried Laurentian students have taken to UMentioned Laurentian, a popular anonymous Facebook page to talk about hesitant future plans.
A post from March 20 said “Many students, including me, are worried about the school closing. With Laurentian being excluded from funding and the president mentioning that the university will cease to function at the end of next month if restructuring plans are not approved, I really don’t know what to think or do at this point.”
“This whole situation is personally confusing and scary, and I would appreciate an honest answer as to whether the best thing for me and other students to do would be to really consider applying to other universities or stay with LU because everything will be just fine?”, it continued.
The anonymous post is signed “- a very confused and worried student.”
Jamie West, Sudbury MPP, commented on the post saying “It really shouldn’t have come to this. First CCAA, then yesterday LU was excluded from the province’s funding announcement.”
“Student shouldn’t be paying the price,” he said.
Luke Allen commented, “Yes start applying elsewhere the ship us [sic] sinking.”
Lindsay Hammond said that she’s looking at backup options, and “inquired to my program coordinator a few weeks ago regarding a class in sept [sic] and they didn’t respond. They normally respond the same day.”
At the time of publication, the post has 47 comments of students voicing their concerns. Many of them support Hammond’s idea to switch schools.
The Ontario Government provided 23 different universities and colleges with $106.4 million as a COVID-19 relief fund, yet despite being financially hit by the pandemic, Laurentian did not appear on the list.
Scott Clark, Press Secretary of the Office of the Minister of Colleges and Universities, provided a response as to why Laurentian did not receive this relief funding.
“The Government has been clear–we are committed to postsecondary education in Sudbury, the students at Laurentian University and the continuity of their learning,” he said.
“At this time, a one-time injection of funding through this COVID-19 Support Fund is not going to fix the significant long-term and systemic challenges faced by Laurentian.”
“We are confident that the CCAA process is the right way to address the longstanding issues at the institution. Minister Romano is working with Alan Harrison to monitor the CCAA proceedings and ensure that continuity of learning for Laurentian’s student is protected,” the statement said.