Last night a historic victory was won at Dalhousie University during the largest student union Annual General Meeting in the schools recent history. A three year campaign to bring down NSPIRG was swiftly snuffed out when a majority voted down a motion to compromise the organizations funding. After a gruelling five hours, 237 students voted to not only save the organization, but to not even bring the decision to a fall referendum. With a five percent margin, we decided once and for all that social and environmental justice are vital issues that students want to promote and support.
This is not only a victory for NSPIRG. Over the last three weeks faculty, community and campus organizations, and students of all types have come together. We have mounted a campaign of education, communicating the importance of critical thought, civil disobedience, and speaking truth to power. We have engaged in numerous conversations about the corporatization and militarization of our campus, about the social injustice that plagues our province, about the need for change, and about the role of students in the production of such a movement.
Never before have we seen this level of politicization at Dalhousie. At the offset of last night’s meeting the room was at capacity, with over seven hundred students present. These issues are on the lips of a great number of students, the campus abuzz with political dialogue. We have achieved many gains over the past few weeks; we have come together, recognized common goals and collective power, engaged strangers, and made Dal a more hopeful place. The ripples of our work will resonate in the hearts and minds of many.
Thank you for all your work and commitment.
The site for the Halifax local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.
