By Sherina Harris and Kashish Hura
No one showed up to the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) town hall, which was set to discuss financial transparency, as well as the provincial government’s changes to tuition and student funding.
Only campus media, ASL interpreters and two executives—president Maklane deWever and vice-president student life and events Edmund Sofo—were present at the beginning of the event.
Sofo left shortly after the event started.
“I thought this could be an opportunity to have a candid face-to-face conversation for students but I also understand that students are busy,” deWever said.
He said the RSU had put up posters and advertised the event online, but said it might not have been accessible to students.
“I’m going to demonstrate that I’m here to listen,” he said, adding if students have questions they can email him.
He said he also plans to host a Reddit AMA to answer student questions.
DeWever previously told The Eye the goal of the town hall was to “change the dynamic at the RSU so it’s more about listening rather than telling.”
It was one of a number of measures aimed at earning back student trust in the union after credit cards under the name of the president and vice-president operations showed thousands of dollars of spending on clubs, food and entertainment.
It was also planned to address issues like the changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) and the Student Choice Initiative, which could allow students to opt-out of ‘non-essential’ campus groups and services.
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