Around 100 students at the University of Windsor took part in a walkout Thursday to protest cuts to OSAP funding.
Earlier this year, the Ontario government announced changes to OSAP that shifted the majority of funding available to loans instead of grants. Under the new system, only 25 per cent of funding is available as grants, with the remaining 75 per cent coming as loans.
Victorieuse Sambao, President of the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance, said they are urging the Ontario government to consult with students and invest in education.
"We want to see our OSAP be our OSAP and that includes reversing that formula, that includes supporting the students, and that includes always investing into education that is not a privilege, but a right," said Sambao.
Students said many students are making decisions on their education based on the availability of funding.
"There are students who would have otherwise been attending here that are no longer able to do so because of the conversion from grants to loans. Students who would be in no way less academically capable but because they're economically less fortunate, they are not able to take on the enormous burden in a loan-based system," said R.J. D'Aguilar, Vice-President of Student Advocacy with the University of Windsor Students' Alliance.
University of Windsor Students led a rally throughout campus to join students who walked out of class throughout the province.
