Chanting crowds surrounded the entrance to Brescia University College as hundreds of students, faculty and graduates protested the school’s planned merger with Western University.
Wednesday’s rally comes as Canada’s only women’s university college announced last week that it will wind down its operations as an affiliated university college beginning in May 2024.
Alex Wild and Emma McBean are among the roughly 20 students who came together earlier this week to organize the protest against the merger.
“We’re all here today (Wednesday) to unite as students during this really hard time and to make sure that our voices are heard,” McBean said. “We want to keep that sense of community here at Brescia alive for as long as we can.”
Wild told Global News that students were notified of the merger via an email on Thursday.
“I think that’s part of what makes it such a loss for us is because just mere weeks ago, we were told this was going to be our school for the next four years,” she said. “We learned to love it, to value it, to learn all about it, and to now be told that we’re going to have a different school is so devastating.”
Last week’s announcement stressed several commitments, including ensuring current Brescia students will still be able to complete their program of study and remain in their current program for the duration of their degree.
Officials also said Western will assume Brescia’s assets and liabilities, providing the school’s full-time faculty and current contract faculty with sessional appointments and full-time staff and permanent part-time staff with employment offers.
“The university will identify all available employment options for Brescia’s contract faculty and staff,” the statement added.
But despite that, Heather Kirk, vice-president of Brescia’s faculty association, said the news still came as an “absolute shock.”
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“I remember actually feeling the blood drained from my face and just having to sit there through the meeting while you’re physically, emotionally, intellectually processing something that is going to forever change your professional life and personal life,” she said.
“Blindsided and devastated are definitely the words that have been used often over the last few days.”
On top of concerns raised by students, Kirk told Global News she’s also worried about how the merger will affect Brescia’s legacy.
“There’s a lot of safety in being a women’s only university and in the community that we’ve created here, a safety and love that isn’t easily replicated elsewhere,” she said.
Monika Lee, a professor in Brescia’s department of English, added that “Brescia’s has also been a safe space for other groups.”
“Students with disabilities, mental health issues, LGBTQ+ people, we have a lot of transgender and non-binary students and even a lot of men who take courses as well who all come to Brescia for the safety here as well,” she said.
Western announced last week that a $25-million Brescia Legacy Fund will also be created through the merger agreement to support access to education through scholarships, bursaries and programs.
Wild stressed that both student and staff voices “weren’t consulted when this decision was initially made,” saying that through Wednesday’s protest, “our voices will be heard.”
“Some of the things we’re fighting for is keeping a women’s-only residency and keeping woman-only safe spaces within Western for women and non-binary individuals, (and) most importantly keeping the Brescia’s legacy and history alive.”
Among the growing crowd at the rally was also 2018 Brescia graduate Krista Lucier. She told Global News that once she heard about the protest against the merger, she made the drive back to campus in order to participate.
“This is where I found myself,” she said. “This is where I built myself into the person that I am. I wouldn’t be doing any of the things that I am doing without this school, so to hear that it might be gone within a year is heartbreaking.”
As an alumna, Lucier added that she was also notified of the merger via the same email sent to students and staff last week.
“But seeing all of these people fighting for the same cause and fighting for women’s education, it’s empowering,” she said. “I hope this pocket of empowerment makes a difference.”
Emily Shervill, Cassandra Pascavage and Kayla Tafaro are roommates and fourth-year students at Brescia. Following the rally, they hope that the impact of Brescia’s impression on the community lives on into the future.
“Brescia was such a safe and amazing place for women to really come into their own and to learn more about themselves in a safe space while making great friendships along the way,” Shervill said.
Pascavage added that “Brescia has always been such a tight-knit community and to see it be disintegrated into Western now is truly tragic.”
In light of the rally, Lauretta Frederking, president of Brescia University College, wrote in a statement to Global News that her “focus has always been to maintain an enriching environment for all students, both current and future, who walk through our doors.”
“This remains our priority as we enter this next chapter,” she said. “We also recognize there remains significant work to be done to advance women’s education, even as the demand for women’s universities has shifted.”
She also stressed Western’s commitment to “identifying all available employment options for Brescia’s contract faculty and staff,” and that throughout the merger process, Brescia is committed to an open dialogue, with the knowledge that they all want what is best for past, present and future students.
“I realize this news was surprising and disappointing to many. We made the decision to share this plan with our students, faculty, alumnae and staff as soon as the decision received board approval, so they could actively participate in discussions about the transition,” she said. “We are all at the very outset of this process. Listening to and communicating with our communities will remain a critical priority in the coming weeks.”
– with files from Global News’ Kelly Wang.
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