Activism at LU

Black Liberation Collective Lakehead Orillia (BLC)

Meagan Bennett, President

Black liberation collective Lakehead Orillia started in October 2017, when two black racialized students decided to create space for black/bi-racial, racialized and like-minded students. Our campus is rapidly growing demographically and we as black racialized students decided that because we are a part of the Orillia community, we should aim to create a safe space for black students who seek familiarity, which is one of the margins in this city being a minority. BLC works through the barriers people of colour still face in colonized post-secondary institutions in Canada like Lakehead. We also fight alongside our Canadian Federation of Students campaigns to challenge racism, colonialism, sexism, free education, and social justice. We also promote intersectional ally-ship with other marginalized groups, which have been positively impacting our campus for the past 3 years. BLC and LUSU Orillia campaigns teamed up during Black History Month to educate our campus on countries that were affected by the African Diaspora through a bake sale. The fundraiser goes to future black social awareness outreach events. Our club will always continue to impact and contribute to the Lakehead Orillia community by educating students/faculty and the public community about what we stand for on our campus.

Lakehead University Food Security Club (LUFSC)

Nicole Costanzo, President

The Lakehead University Food Security Club was started in September of 2019, with the goal of eliminating food insecurity on Thunder Bay’s Lakehead campus and its surrounding community. As a club that started with only three members, Nicole Costanzo (President), Brianna Colistro (Secretary), and Hilary Macdougall (Treasurer), we are proud to say that over the last year we have grown to be a group of over 25 like-minded individuals. As access to sufficient and healthy food is a basic human right, yet so many people including students on our own campus are not able to fulfill that, we have been inspired to create change in our community to fight this disparity. Over the last school year, we have been able to partner with the LUSU Food bank in their events, organize and facilitate our own food drives in support of the Food Bank, as well as partner with local organizations to provide students with volunteer opportunities. For the future of this club, we hope to continue our efforts to improve the overall quality of life of struggling Thunder Bay residents and bring together a group of student advocates while doing so.

Sustainability Initiative Thunder Bay (SITB)

Taylor O’Brien, Public Relations

Sustainability Initiative Thunder Bay is a club in its first year at Lakehead University. We focus on how the students and faculty of Lakehead University, as well as the residents of Thunder Bay, can become more sustainable in all aspects of daily life. We aim to provide all of our club members with small events throughout the year, promoting many features of sustainable living. We have had a beeswax wrap making night and made weekly Instagram posts where we share tips on how to be sustainable. As well, we had different challenges with prizes to get our members to contribute to the wellbeing of the environment. Furthermore, we are looking to create a group where individuals can come together to accomplish environmental and sustainability goals, which would be impossible to do alone. As a group, we work hard to raise awareness of the seriousness of climate change and try to inspire others to do their part to help our communities. We hope that our club will motivate others to make a change and unite together to fight for the future of our world.

Plant-Based and Low-Waste Initiative (PBLWI)

Eli Drummond, President/Treasurer

A lot of what we focus on is reducing students’ ecological footprint and being a conscious consumer, hence the name of our club. In the past, we have sold zero-waste kits and have had tables to share with people what low-waste is and what changes they can make. Another project that most students don’t see is the composting efforts that are being made at one of the residence buildings on campus. Despite the niche name, we do anything that is earth friendly, green, or related to sustainability. For example, in February we hosted a bake sale (with some pretty awesome vegan options) and sent all the proceeds to the World Wildlife Fund for the Australia Bushfire emergency. We raised $201.55 which was awesome! We play a role trying to make campus eco-conscious and spread the word about events hosted by other clubs and groups to promote sustainability and activism around campus. Everyone who is active in the Plant-Based and Low-Waste Initiative is really great and passionate about making change.

Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (SETA)

Claudia Godden, President

Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (SETA) is an animal rights advocacy group at the Orillia campus. We raise awareness about cruelty to animals that happens for food, clothing, and entertainment, and we advocate veganism as the way to help end this cruelty. Going vegan is the single biggest thing we as individuals can do to ensure we are not supporting animal cruelty and exploitation.

SETA works to end speciesism which is the assumption of human superiority leading to the exploitation of animals. The ways in which humans oppress animals parallels other forms of oppression such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. Just like how people are discriminated against simply because of their gender, race, or sexual orientation, animals are discriminated against simply because they are a different species than us. When advocating for animal rights, we are simultaneously advocating for the end of all forms of oppression.

Events that we host on campus include film screenings of animal rights documentaries, vegan bake sales, and fundraisers for local animal shelters.

We know that our events stick with people which ultimately helps the animals. SETA is always available for questions about how to go vegan and speak up for animals! You can also visit howdoigovegan.com.