James Westman works for the Laurentian Students' Union and he says Laurentian students in Barrie had no knowledge of nor say in the decision to pull the Laurentian campus out of Barrie.
"We have been woefully underrepresented," Westman told BarrieToday on Saturday.
"In no way at all were the students consulted about the decision to leave," he said. "As the future of our satellite campus was determined, students from Barrie had zero input... Our President of the LSU learned of the campus termination (through Vice Dean of Barrie, Craig Fowler) only after the conclusion of the meeting."
Laurentian's decision to pull out has left the students concerned about opportunities to finish their degree programs and remain in Barrie.
Laurentian's departure without consultation with its students infuriates them, he said.
"We find it absolutely unacceptable that the students of Laurentian Barrie had no input whatsoever in our future," Westman said. "We, the students - not the administrators - are the real stakeholders in the situation."
The Laurentian Student Union is particularly concerned that administrators made the decision to only offer Social Work students an opportunity to finish their degrees in Barrie.
"Humanities and business students ought to be afforded the same opportunity. There was an implicit understanding for all first and second year humanities and business students when they enrolled to Laurentian Barrie that they would be able to finish their degrees here," said Westman.
If students are unhappy with Laurentian's sudden departure, they are even less happy about the alternatives being offered them.
"The alternative options being presented by the administration are piecemeal and inadequate," he said.
"Students do not want to uproot their lives three hours north to Sudbury, take online courses which do not compare to being in a classroom, or be forced to attend a different university. No students are happy about the Board of Governors decision; most of them are furious."
Westman said deliberation over the Garretson report took place in-camera during a closed meeting that excluded the people who will be most directly impacted by Laurentian's decision to leave.
Laurentian Student Union in Barrie has started a petition aimed at convincing Laurentian University's Board of Governors to allow all undergraduates currently enrolled in Barrie to complete their degrees with Laurentian University in Barrie.
The petition can be viewed here
