The Time is Now: #ClosetheGaps Campaign by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA)

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), a federal student advocacy organization that the GSA is a member, has launched a new campaign #ClosetheGaps to voice the concerns and difficulties post-secondary students are facing due to the global pandemic and economic downturn.

#CloseTheGaps seeks to promote and raise awareness for the myriad of these challenges of post-secondary students across Canada including major themes that CASA and its membership student associations have identified since the beginning of the pandemic:

➡️ Mental Health Funding
➡️ Student Financial Aid
➡️ More Jobs for Students
➡️ Access to Technology
➡️ Supports for International Students
➡️ Childcare for Students
➡️ Discrimination in the Post-Secondary Environment

These gaps in support place immense stress on Canadian students and recent graduates, and our goal is to #CloseTheGaps so students can thrive and succeed in the future.

The Graduate Students’ Association of the University of Calgary (GSA) is one of the two graduate student association members of CASA at the moment. Therefore, it is critical for our GSA graduate student members to participate and raise awareness about the challenges that graduate students are facing in Canada. This will ensure that the federal government takes action to support the success of Canadian graduate students through funding and policy changes.

How can graduate students at UCalgary get involved?

1. Create your #CloseTheGaps image and share it on your social media with hashtag #CloseTheGaps and tagging @casaaeca @gsaucalgary
2. Send a letter to your MPs about the gap(s) you are experiencing using the sample letters provided by CASA
3. Spread the word: Ask your friends, classmates, and lab mates to create their own #CloseTheGaps images

CASA will then utilize these personal anecdotes and datasets to build a display on or around Parliament Hill in Ottawa as a visually striking image that will reinforce the amount of gaps faced by post-secondary students, while also generating significant media and Parliamentary attention. 

About Canadian Alliance of Students Association (CASA):

CASA is a national voice for Canada’s post-secondary students. Established in 1995, CASA is a non-partisan, not-for-profit student organization composed of student associations from across Canada. We represent undergraduate, graduate and polytechnic associations.

At its core, CASA advocates on behalf of post-secondary students to the federal government. When Canada’s leaders make decisions affecting our post-secondary education system, they turn to CASA for solutions.

https://www.casa-acae.com/