The COVID-19 pandemic has altered many aspects of student life at George Brown College (GBC) throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. Students have had to adjust quickly to the continuous restrictions placed on in-person learning. And with the reality of a pandemic that continues to disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latino, and other visible minorities in Canada, this unprecedented time has opened society’s eyes to the systemic injustices of both the past and present. It has been an uncomfortable year to say the least, but also a long-overdue time of social and political change. 

Social Justice & Anti-Racism

In the 2020-2021 academic year, GBC introduced its first Director of Indigienous Initiatives and Director of Anti-Racism, Equity, and Human Rights, after an open letter was addressed in July 2020 to former president Anne Sado and other GBC faculty, calling on the college to take more meaningful action to address and end anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism. 

These positions were created to satisfy objective two of GBC’s anti-racism strategy which is to increase Black, Indigenous and racialized student and employee community representation, engagement and capacity. Director of Indigenous Initiatives, Jennifer Campeau, believes her hiring fits this demand but notes that further follow-through is necessary.

“To have a position at that level, in terms of when you look at the map – I’ve got Ian Wigglesworth and then he answers to the president – so I think the fact that it’s that close to the president’s office will enhance what I need to do in terms of access to the leadership table,” Campeau said.

But besides the creation of those two jobs, GBC’s response to concerns about its anti-racism policies this year has been underwhelming. Its Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, created in the summer of 2020, was mostly stagnant, with only two, largely unsubstantial meetings held before March 2021. Last week OPSEU Locals 556 and 557, the unions representing GBC faculty and staff, wrote to the college’s board of governors expressing fear that the GBC administration’s commitment may not be quite as strong as broadcasted, and that it may not result in the substantive change that the administration promised.”

And despite calls to provide more “culturally competent care” from the SAGBC and demands to eliminate campus security by Desmond Cole, the college has done little to substantively change its security system. In recent months, a GBC professor has called out repeated instances of racist microagression and a GBC student accused GBC security of harassing him while he attempted to use the bathroom.  The college has said that they are looking for ways to make its security more equitable but has not provided a timeline on action. 

SAGBC

Meanwhile at the SAGBC, a recent CRO Report labelled the board “largely homogenous and without diversity” and called for more diversity on board regarding SAGBC board members, which Charles Wilson, the chief reporting officer, believes will further voting participation in student elections. 

“When I see an issue, and when an issue comes like this, that quite frankly threatens the integrity of the product of the election which I oversee, and that is the lack of diversity the lack of diverse voices, that becomes worrisome and that becomes problematic,” said Wilson.

The SAGBC funds the Dialog.

This March 2021, the SAGBC introduced a strategic direction that aspires to seek progressive and effective choices for the student community of GBC, both during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than a five-year traditional strategic plan, this new strategic direction is designed towards responding to priorities over the next two years, says Neil Price, president of LogicalOutcomes, the consulting firm which the SAGBC hired for this process.

“The coronavirus pandemic has brought about the need to think about the ability to adapt and keep people inspired about student voices and the student movement in general,” said Price. “At the same time, we also want to think about growth. What are the opportunities beyond the pandemic, and also now, to think about how the organization can position itself to be better and stronger moving forward?”

The 2021-2023 strategic direction includes three strategic priorities: “to build connections with an engaged student community”; to “invest in people”; to build “technology and processes that lead to digital transformation”; and to “promote organizational learning and development, sustainability, strategic recruitment and high-performance teams”.

COVID-19 & Remote Learning

In terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, international students have had to navigate through many uncertainties this past year to fulfill their learning components. When the college prepared for a further spike in cases during October 2020, international students became increasingly worried about whether or not they would be permitted to enter Canada for their in-person classes.

 It was not until November 17, 2020 that GBC officially received approval for its COVID-19 readiness plan from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Moreover, in January 2019, the federal government of Canada declared a temporary policy deeming post-graduate work permits (PGWPs) renewable for the first time in Canadian history. This decision offered international students with expired or expiring PGWPs the ability to apply for new 18-month work permits, potentially stopping the mass deportations of thousands and allow international individuals more time to fulfill their work experience and education requirements.

“It’s a win for international students, it’s a win for the student movement”, says Taranjeet Singh Manchanda, then the director of communications and internal at the SAGBC. 

“We need and we deserve better treatment.”

In regards to work-experiential and hands-on learning, controversy stirred about whether or not it was ethical to ask students to attend their in-person work placements or hands-on learning components during the COVID-19 pandemic. At least two student-run petitions were started throughout the 2020-2021 academic year in different faculties, including the Fashion Business Industry (F112) and the School of Early Childhood Education (ECE). In both cases, however, GBC stood firm on their decision to not let students graduate without completing these mandatory components.

“The college just can’t randomly waive courses as part of diploma programs that are credited by the ministry of education. We just can’t pick and choose what is part of the diploma program pathway,” says Rosa Fracassa, F112 program chair.

March 16, 2021 marked the one-year anniversary of GBC closing all of its doors and facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic back in March 2020. As staff and students reflected back on this day, many said that they never would have thought it would endure for as long as it has today. 

“I remember being on campus and it feeling like a bit of a ghost town. I remember feeling that way because there weren’t as many people there as we had seen before. And I think many people had chosen to stay home that day, because things felt very uncertain about what was happening,” says Chris McGrath, vice-president of Student Success. 

“For us, at the residence, I remember working on our pandemic response plan in January when news about COVID started to circle, and thinking, “Okay, this won’t be – this is just in case but there’s no way this is going to be for real. And it seems silly to think that now, but at the time, I was thinking, ‘this is just in case’”, says Erica Fearnall, general manager of Campus Living Centres. 

Anne Sado’s retirement 

Amid all of these changes, one of the most significant was the announcement that GBC President Anne Sado’s retirement on November 3, 2020, effective June 30, 2021. Sado was the college’s first female president and held her position for nearly 17 years. 

“I never thought much about [being a woman in academia],” said Sado. “I have always worked in male-dominated industries and academia isn’t much different.” 

“Diversity is wonderful, and it is so important to be part of a diverse world,” said Sado. “Seeing the staff and students remind me about the richness in culture everyday.”

The Board of Governors is now in the process of searching for her successor.

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Reflecting now on what has been a year of continuous change and adaptation it is evident that this year has not been an easy one. It’s ending definitely looks and feels differently than in previous years. But in looking back at the year in review, it is plain to see one thing: although we were separated physically, the 2020-2021 academic year has pushed us forward academically and grown us stronger as a community.