Latest news with #UOSU
Globe and Mail
22-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
The University of Ottawa Students' Union Partners with Bounce to Build a More Inclusive and Connected Campus for 2025-2026
OTTAWA, Ontario, July 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The University of Ottawa Students' Union (UOSU) is ushering in a bold new chapter for student life on campus. With a new partnership with Bounce for the 2025-2026 academic year, the UOSU executive team is delivering on its promise to create a more inclusive and connected campus experience. A Leadership Team Raising the Bar Strengthening student life on campus at the University of Ottawa is the cornerstone of the mandate of new UOSU President Jack Coen. This includes every aspect of student life, from better engagement and visibility to a safer campus for students. 'Our executive team came into this year with a clear mission: make student life more accessible and more visible for everyone,' said Coen. 'We know how hard our campus leaders and clubs work to build community, and it's our job to give them the tools and platform to shine.' For many students, one of the biggest barriers to engagement is visibility. Without a centralized platform to showcase their efforts, clubs that work tirelessly to build community often go unnoticed. This year's UOSU executive team is bringing a new light to this old problem. 'We knew we had to tackle this challenge in an innovative way,' said Emilia Bah, interim Student Life Commissioner. 'There's so much happening at uOttawa, but it's often hard for students to find and navigate. When we saw what Bounce could offer, a single place where everything comes together, it became an easy decision.' With Bounce, the UOSU will join the top unions in the country who are bringing the entire campus experience under one umbrella in an intuitive, centralized platform. For student organizations, this means: Streamlined tools to manage members, recruitment, and communication. Smarter ways to promote events and attract students who align with their mission. Easier coordination of RSVPs, ticketing, and processing payments all in one platform. For students themselves, it means: Finding and joining clubs that align with their interests. Easily discovering new campus activities to try. Staying up to date on what's happening on their campus. "If Bounce had existed in my first year, I would have felt way less overwhelmed. There were so many events and clubs happening, but it was hard to know what was actually going on or, when, or where.' said Mari Laviola, a uOttawa undergraduate student, 'Now, everything's going to be in one place, like a living map of campus life. I'm excited because it's going to change how students meet friends, discover what we are into, and actually become a part of the community much earlier and more easily". Safety, Transparency, and Inclusivity The union's commitment to student well-being also guided this partnership. Bounce includes real-time event safety scoring, anonymous reporting features, and communication tools that prioritize transparency and responsiveness. These features align directly with Coen's pledge to strengthen campus safety. Bounce's track record at peer student unions, like its role in helping St. Francis Xavier reach the 99th percentile for event safety, offers a strong foundation for what can be achieved by Coen's team at uOttawa. Built for a Better Tomorrow As the UOSU navigates an exciting year of transition and renewed purpose, this partnership positions them at the forefront of innovation in student engagement. The whole executive team is united in their goal to build a campus where no student feels left out, and where participation is seamless, safe, and celebrated. 'This isn't just about new technology or another tool,' said Coen. 'This is about finally solving a problem that students have been facing for years of not knowing where to go or how to get involved. We're proud to be joining the ranks of the great student unions across the country who are choosing a better, more connected path forward.' In addition to student life tools, Bounce also offers centralized, easy-to-use workflows for event approvals, club budget requests, and student elections management. These governance tools are available to any student union looking to save time and money by simplifying their internal processes. The UOSU joins a rapidly growing list of top student unions in Canada who are transforming student engagement with Bounce. Ready to join the movement and bring your student union to the forefront? Let's talk.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Students with 'nowhere else to go' call on city for housing help
Post-secondary students in Ottawa are calling on the city to take action after a report revealed many are paying sky-high rent to live in dingy, crowded conditions amid a worsening housing crisis. The University of Ottawa Student Union (UOSU) and its housing committee surveyed more than 600 students and drew conclusions from 410 responses to compile its student housing caucus report. Coun. Jeff Leiper, who chairs the city's housing and planning committee, invited UOSU representatives to present their findings at city hall on Wednesday. According to the report, students are paying an average rent of $927 per month — $1,020 per month for those renting from corporate landlords. Leiper, who said he was "compelled" by the report's depth of research, said it accurately captures the student housing experience in Ottawa, particularly when it comes to cost. "That is extremely concerning," Leiper said. "I think that they have made some really compelling points about the financialization of housing that speak ... to the need for a much greater not-for-profit investment in housing." Alex Stratas, the student union's advocacy commissioner, said the survey revealed some students are living seven or eight to a single unit because they can't afford rent. "It's getting harder and harder to afford any form of housing, and never mind tuition, never mind food, never mind transit," Stratas said. The report blames a rental market that benefits landlords but makes students "the canary in the coalmine." The report calls on the city to enact key policy changes including creating "affordable student housing incentive zones" within five kilometres of college and university campuses. It also recommends the city fund community land trusts and provide incentives for non-profits and housing co-operatives. "Some of what they were asking for looks an awful lot like the existing community improvement programs for affordable housing that we already have," Leiper said. "Unfortunately, we've chosen not to go down the acquisition path, but there is still the potential that the federal government may go down that path in the absence of city action." In a statement to Radio-Canada, the city said some of the report's recommendations aren't permitted under provincial law, but it is exploring a new zoning policy near post-secondary institutions. "The City has invested more than $200 million in the construction of new affordable housing since 2022, with support from all levels of government," the city said. "While there are no financial or zoning incentives specifically for affordable student housing, the funding is used to support affordable housing projects from the planning stages through to construction." James Adair, the UOSU board member who oversaw the survey, said many students have simply run out of better options. "We saw a lot of that — students being willing to accept really poor quality conditions because there's really nowhere else to go," he said. "It's that or it's pay $1,500 a month for a new development in Sandy Hill — or it's homelessness." Leiper said he believes Ottawa would be made better by building the "kind of city that students are asking us to build." "It's refreshing to see that they're really engaged and really want to help us," Stratas said. "They just didn't know how, they didn't hear our voice."
CBC
24-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Students with 'nowhere else to go' call on city for housing help
Post-secondary students in Ottawa are calling on the city to take action after a report revealed many are paying sky-high rent to live in dingy, crowded conditions amid a worsening housing crisis. The University of Ottawa Student Union (UOSU) and its housing committee surveyed more than 600 students and drew conclusions from 410 responses to compile its student housing caucus report. Coun. Jeff Leiper, who chairs the city's housing and planning committee, invited UOSU representatives to present their findings at city hall on Wednesday. According to the report, students are paying an average rent of $927 per month — $1,020 per month for those renting from corporate landlords. Leiper, who said he was "compelled" by the report's depth of research, said it accurately captures the student housing experience in Ottawa, particularly when it comes to cost. "That is extremely concerning," Leiper said. "I think that they have made some really compelling points about the financialization of housing that speak ... to the need for a much greater not-for-profit investment in housing." Alex Stratas, the student union's advocacy commissioner, said the survey revealed some students are living seven or eight to a single unit because they can't afford rent. "It's getting harder and harder to afford any form of housing, and never mind tuition, never mind food, never mind transit," Stratas said. The report blames a rental market that benefits landlords but makes students "the canary in the coalmine." The report calls on the city to enact key policy changes including creating "affordable student housing incentive zones" within five kilometres of college and university campuses. It also recommends the city fund community land trusts and provide incentives for non-profits and housing co-operatives. "Some of what they were asking for looks an awful lot like the existing community improvement programs for affordable housing that we already have," Leiper said. "Unfortunately, we've chosen not to go down the acquisition path, but there is still the potential that the federal government may go down that path in the absence of city action." No special incentives for affordable student housing In a statement to Radio-Canada, the city said some of the report's recommendations aren't permitted under provincial law, but it is exploring a new zoning policy near post-secondary institutions. "The City has invested more than $200 million in the construction of new affordable housing since 2022, with support from all levels of government," the city said. "While there are no financial or zoning incentives specifically for affordable student housing, the funding is used to support affordable housing projects from the planning stages through to construction." James Adair, the UOSU board member who oversaw the survey, said many students have simply run out of better options. "We saw a lot of that — students being willing to accept really poor quality conditions because there's really nowhere else to go," he said. "It's that or it's pay $1,500 a month for a new development in Sandy Hill — or it's homelessness." Leiper said he believes Ottawa would be made better by building the "kind of city that students are asking us to build." "It's refreshing to see that they're really engaged and really want to help us," Stratas said. "They just didn't know how, they didn't hear our voice."
