Campaigns & Initiatives

The University of Toronto Students’ Union advocates on your behalf to the University of Toronto administration and all three levels of government. To support our advocacy efforts, we endeavour to involve you—our members—in campaigns that reflect the interests of students.

On this page, you can learn more about each of our current campaigns and how to get involved with each.

For the UTSU’s published research reports and policy proposals, click here.

For the UTSU’s lobbying and advocacy efforts, click here.

To start your own initiative on campus with UTSU support, click here.

Equity 101

Equity 101 aims to educate students on important topics pertaining to equity. This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive overview meant to make one an expert on equity topics. Instead, the guidebook is meant to be a resource for individuals who want to self-educate themselves on these topics and develop at least a basic understanding of equity. It is encouraged that this be used as a starting point towards further reading and education on social justice.

For more information, please contact Vice-President Equity, at vpequity@utsu.ca.

U4Consent

The purpose of the U4Consent Campaign is to raise awareness about consent culture on campus, provide spaces for survivors to come together, and ensure that the administration is consulting students on the provincially mandated sexual violence policy. Through both a trauma-informed and survivor centered approach, respecting the wishes of survivors and prioritizing their needs. An intersectional approach is at the core of this campaign as it recognizes the distinct experiences of marginalized survivors.

For more information, please contact Vice-President Equity, at vpequity@utsu.ca.

Advancing Equity in Education

We must transform our existing colonial academic structures to include diverse knowledges, voices, critiques, and scholars. It is crucial that all students are aware of social and historical underpinnings of equity and social justice issues to develop strategies for advancing social change on a local, national, and global scale.

This campaign aims to raise awareness of equity and social justice issues through academic programs and courses at U of T. We will aim to take a community-based approach to this campaign by working in collaboration with different equity-based course unions. This includes the Equity Studies Students’ Union (ESSU), Women and Gender Studies Students’ Union (WGSSU), African Studies Students’ Union (ASCU), Caribbean Studies Students’ Union (CARSSU), Indigenous Studies Students’ Union (ISSU), Sociology Students’ Union (USSU), etc.

For more information, please contact Vice-President Equity, at vpequity@utsu.ca.

Advancing Equity within our Communities: Supporting Local

To advance equity and inclusion within our own communities, it is essential that we support diverse local businesses. The goal of this campaign is to encourage equitable, local shopping to raise awareness of BIPOC & 2SLGBTQ+ owned businesses at the university and the broader Toronto area through collaboration with student groups across campus. Through internal and external outreach, this campaign engages communities within both the city and university.

For more information, please contact Vice-President Equity, at vpequity@utsu.ca.

Same Degree, Same Fee

Computer Science, Bioinformatics, and Data Science students at the University of Toronto currently pay $11,420 in tuition fees (domestic students), which is 87% higher than the $6,100 domestic tuition rate charged in general for degrees in the Faculty of Arts and Science. International students also pay thousands of dollars more in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, and Data Science as compared to all other science programs in the Faculty of Arts and Science.

Despite the fact that these programs are part of the Faculty of Arts and Science, and despite the fact that these students still earn a regular Honours Bachelor in Science degree, students in these programs are made to pay this higher fee.

This higher tuition makes a degree in Computer Science less accessible, and access to it less equitable. It acts as a systemic barrier that prevents marginalized students from entering this field. It increases the financial and emotional pressure on Computer Science students to compete for grades and high-paying internships, just to be able to afford their degree; this has contributed to a mental health crisis in the Computer Science department.

We believe that students should be treated the same way as all other students in our faculty, the Faculty of Arts and Science, and charged the same fees for what is at the end of the day the same degree (a HBSc).

Please sign this petition to be a part of our campaign for reduced fees for students in these programs. If you’re a U of T student, please also take some time to fill out this survey and share your experience with tuition at the University of Toronto.

For more information, please contact Vice-President Public & University Affairs, at vppua@utsu.ca.