Dear President Sado: We, the undersigned students, alumni, faculty and community members, are extremely concerned about the ramifications that the current economic crisis may have on George Brown College. We are further concerned about the short sighted and malicious decision of the University of Guelph to eliminate their Women's Studies programme under the guise of dealing with budget constraints. We trust that George Brown College is not considering cutting any programmes as a way of dealing with funding issues. Programmes like the Assaulted Women's and Children's Counsellor/Advocate Program, Community Worker Program, Social Service Worker and Child and Youth Worker Program are vital not only to the College, but to the larger community. These programmes produce advocates for those who will be hardest hit by the current economic crisis. Graduates from these programmes are the front-line staff dealing with the social services fallout from the increased poverty that is connected to the economic recession. We are asking for the Administration to give written assurance that there will be no cuts to the programmes offered by the college and that there will be no cuts to any faculty positions (full-time, part-time or sessional). In times like these there is a need for strong leadership from management to show the community that George Brown College is dedicated to providing high quality education that is accessible to all potential students. We are calling on the Administration to at the very least freeze (if not decrease) tuition fees and ancillary fees to ensure that education remains almost accessible for all current students and potential students. Students are already being put into massive debt at the current fees. We strongly encourage the Administration to leverage the College's corporate partnerships to increase the amount of bursary funds that are available. The College invests heavily in recruiting students (the billboard signs are every where in Toronto). It must also invest to ensure that we are able to retain the students we already have. *** You are encouraged to register your comments with your signature. DO NOT USE APOSTROPHES OR QUOTATION MARKS in your comment (no "STOP STUDENT DEBT NOW" for instance); the system is finicky and your comment will not be recorded. NOTE: Your signature has been successfully added when you reach the prompt for donations. No donation required.