'We were given no notice about this': University of Regina Students' Union asks U of R to delay eviction

CBC

a day ago

The University of Regina Students' Union (URSU) is asking for an extension after the U of R terminated the union's lease last week.
The U of R announced the eviction on Friday, saying URSU leadership must vacate the office and any commercial space it occupies on campus.
URSU vice president Jwalant Patel said he was working at the URSU office last week when a handful of U of R security officers came in and told him to pack up "his personal belongings."
"They handed [me over] the letter and they said, like, 'you have five minutes to evacuate the space, just get your personal belongings and go out,'" Patel told CBC on Monday afternoon.
He said security was ready to "seize" the room as soon as he stepped out of the office, quickly changing the locks on the front desk and back doors.
"Just imagine, even if the standard … I mean the landlord here in Regina, they give 15 days of the eviction notice to anybody, even if they wanna throw out someone from the office space or, like, the residential space," Patel said.
He said he was completely blindsided and there was nothing new in the U of R's notice that warranted an early termination.
"We were never ready for this," he said. "We are expecting something like this to happen around the end of this month. It is still mid-August."
Patel said the U of R originally called off its lease agreement with URSU as of Sept.1, giving union staff at least two more weeks to pack up.
Now the university has given them from Monday to Wednesday during working hours, he said.
"We were given no notice about this."
Patel said the U of R has also told URSU to leave behind all assets paid for by the students' union. He said the U of R has advised the assets will now be held by the school's board of governors, who will hand it over to the new union or whatever organization takes over for URSU.
"That right should be decided by the membership … not by the university," Patel said. "If it's a legal thing and we have to obey that order, but if it's coming from the university, not directed by the court. We won't be agreeing on that."
Patel said he wrote an email Sunday to object to the U of R's decision to have security "restrict" URSU staff to only receiving personal property.
He said URSU's constitution does say that if the union is dissolved, the U of R board should hold the unions' belongings in trust, but argued that the U of R's eviction notice is not the same as a dissolution, as there has been no vote by the membership to dissolve URSU.
Patel told CBC he has asked the U of R to rescind or revise their decision and allow URSU to stay to the end of the month. He said he has given the university until the end of the day Monday to respond.
"The reason we are asking is, like, the [three days] is so limited. I mean, it's very difficult," Patel said.
' Loss of confidence': University of Regina president
The University's decision was driven by a "loss of confidence" in URSU's ability to serve and represent students, U of R president Jeff Keshen said in a statement posted on Facebook last week.
"Effective immediately, the university has terminated its main lease agreements with URSU, meaning URSU leadership is required to vacate the office and commercial space it occupies on campus," Keshen said.
URSU occupied office space on the second floor of the Riddell Centre. It was also responsible for running the multi-purpose room and the Lazy Owl bar and restaurant.
Keshen said The Lazy Owl will remain closed until further notice and bookings for the multi-purpose room will now be handled by the university's hospitality services team.
The U of R declined to comment on Patel's email and directed CBC back to Friday's statement.
' Saddening and heartbreaking': U of R student
As URSU shutters its doors, many U of R students say they are worried about not having a union to represent them on campus going into a new school year.
"It's really saddening and heartbreaking," said Pall Agarwan, who takes business at the U of R.
"It has a lot of effect in terms of funding, it has a lot of effect in terms of event planning and things like that. So that has taken a big hit."
Agarwan points to the many student benefits covered by the students' union including a subsidized transit pass, health and dental benefits and the community fridge.
"A lot of other students are struggling to figure out where exactly do you go to if you want help, if you want to figure out life," she said. ""Especially for a lot of international students, when you come here, you need a lot of support."
The U of R has confirmed it will not release fall semester funding to URSU, but said it has measures in place to keep core student services, like health and dental coverage and the U-Pass transit program, active.
"The University will also ensure the flow of funds to student groups and associations that rely on student fees for their ongoing operations," Keshen said in the statement posted Friday.
Hunter Rul, another student, said he is worried about what the next semester is going to look like without a students' union. He said in his eight years as a student, it has always been nice to know there was representation on campus.
Rul noted that it is important to have spaces where students can feel safe, referencing the U of R's Women's Centre, which URSU threatened to defund last year.
Rul said the U of R is "pretty bad" for cutting good programs and spaces, and hopes the campus doesn't go too long without a students union.
He took issue with the decision to indefinitely shut down the Lazy Owl restaurant and bar.
"It is upsetting cause, it's like, it was a good spot to get food and have a quick drink with your friend on campus so you don't have to go across the street," he said. "It felt like it's part of [the U of R's] identity."
The women's centre declined to be interviewed about the U of R's decision to terminate URSU. However, in a statement to CBC Monday, it said it continues, "to take direction from and work with university administration throughout this process."