The SU is pleased to announce that UCalgary administration has backed down from privatizing the bookstore…for now.
This is a win for SU and student advocacy efforts but the fight is not over.
The university is delaying their decision until June 2022 with discussion on this resuming in the new year. This new timeframe will not make students find privatization more palatable but it gives the SU and students time to organize further efforts to save the bookstore.
Thanks to bookstore staff who alerted us to the impending privatization decision, the SU was able to successfully take action and hold university administration to account. The university put together a survey as did the SU.
In the SU survey, 89% of students opposed the privatization of the bookstore and 93% supported the SU taking over operations should the university feel it could not. This student feedback appears to be what shifted the university’s thoughts on privatization.
Thank you to all students who wrote to the university and completed surveys. It is thanks to your efforts in providing the SU with strong data and information that we are able to announce this victory today. While our efforts will continue, we prevented the university from making a hasty and ill-advised decision without seeking proper feedback from students.