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<p>St. Thomas University’s vice-president academic and research, Kim Fenwick, sent an email on March 17 stating the grad dinner, T-Ceremony and the athletics banquet were being cancelled. About a week later, students received an email from STU president Dawn Russell announcing spring convocation is postponed. Brianne Durant, a fourth-year student and the 2020 grad class [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University senate has passed a motion that allows for professors to give students a pass or fail rather than receive letter grades. Bachelor of social work and bachelor of education students are exempt from this decision. As long as students have a 50 per cent in the course, they will pass, said [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University Students’ Union president, Husoni Raymond, is bringing a proposal to the university senate today on pass or fail systems for courses given the impact COVID-19 pandemic has had on courses, students, professors and the community. With this proposed system, he said at a STUSU Student Representative Council meeting, students can choose to [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University sent an email to students and teachers on March 13 informing them in-person classes would no longer take place for the remainder of the semester due to COVID-19 precautions. Heather MacLean, a part-time communications professor at STU, is one of many professors who has moved their courses online. She said the biggest [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Sustainability and Environmental Awareness Committee All 14 present members of the St. Thomas University Students’ Union approved the creation of the Sustainability and Environmental Awareness Committee. Operating budget approved St. Thomas University Students’ Union vice-president administration Matt Oram made a motion to approve next year’s operating budget. The students’ union approved it. STUSU raised the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The Government of New Brunswick announced all non-essential services must shut down on March 17, which left many heavy traffic areas empty. The Aquinian&#8217;s photo editor, Alex Dascalu, visited some previously populated locations on March 28, while practicing social distancing, to capture the peculiarities around town.</p>

<p>Increase in New Brunswick Students’ Alliance Fee Last weekend the St. Thomas University Students’ Union executive team went to the New Brunswick Students’ Alliance annual general meeting in Saint John. During the meeting, the board approved a $1 per student fee increase to avoid a deficit like they had this year, and to increase marketing aimed [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The below updates are meant to supply quick information to students and the Fredericton community on the evolving COVID-19 situation. If you have questions, you can read STU&#8217;s FAQ at www.STU.ca/covid19FAQ. You can also continue to send your questions to ask@stu.ca. April 3 updates The Government of New Brunswick announced the Emergency Bridging Fund for Vulnerable [&hellip;]</p>

<p>After two presumptive cases of COVID-19 were reported at the University of New Brunswick, St. Thomas University is asking all students still living in residence to return home if they are able. As of yesterday, 141 out of 417 students living in residence returned home. STU’s vice president of communications, Jeffrey Carleton, said he thinks [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Several updates were sent in an email to St. Thomas University students today, including the update that online courses will be delayed until Monday, March 23. Here&#8217;s what you need to know: Classes are delayed until March 23 to allow &#8220;for residence students who are able to move out of their residence, professors to restructure [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Everything seemed to be fine on Monday for St. Thomas University exchange student Maria Caicedo. She went to class at her university CEU San Pablo and later went to a free concert in the city and got coffee with her friends. Caicedo is a STU student from Colombia. She had been participating in an exchange [&hellip;]</p>

<p>2SLGBTQIABP+ acronym change The Student Representative Council voted to table the discussion on the acronym change to 2SLGBTQIABP+. Sexuality and gender diversity representative Tyler MaGee said he consulted with the St. Thomas University LGBTQIA2S+ Wellness Coordinator, The 203 Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity and the Sexuality and Gender Advocacy group. He said he&#8217;s not [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University elder-in-residence, Miigam’agan, talked about Indigenous Peoples’ ways of living and looking at the world in her talk titled Nugumijinagig U&#8217;ginamuwagnmual, or Matricultural Societies, as part of the Voices from the Longhouse series on March 14. She said that in Indigenous communities, people introduce themselves by saying where they come from first and [&hellip;]</p>

<p>On Dec. 31, 2019, the first official case of COVID-19, or the coronavirus, was reported in Wuhan, China. Since then, much has changed, and a world of roughly eight billion people have descended into pandemonium. As I write this from my home, let’s be sure that in times like these we do not forget the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The New Brunswick Student Alliance said the New Brunswick government is unwilling to prioritize the needs of students after they tabled the 2020-21 budget with little mention of students on March 10. It was later passed on March 13. Executive director of the NBSA Kjeld-Mizpah Conyers-Steede said after a year of government meetings, advocacy work [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University student Michael Tremblay was working at the CCAA Men&#8217;s Volleyball National Championship when he read the email that STU was cancelling all in-person classes. He said he was speechless. “At first I couldn’t even tell my friend that they were cancelled. You see the virus news and closures around the world, but [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University Students&#8217; Union Indigenous representative Leanne Hudson hosted a basket making workshop at the Wabanaki Student Centre on March 11. The most important takeaway she said she wanted students to have from the event is respect and knowledge for Indigenous traditions. &#8220;I&#8217;m hoping that students are taking away a bigger message of integrating [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Jeffrey Carleton, associate vice-president communications for St. Thomas University, said he gets the sense it will take a day for the news to sink in that STU is suspending in-person classes for the rest of the academic year. “In circumstances where there&#8217;s uncertainties, [students] want to control what you can control. And that&#8217;s why we made [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University student Alex Gagne couldn’t stop thinking about the union’s transparency and accountability after he attended the STU Students’ Union executive candidates’ debates on Feb. 25 and 26. At every debate, the topics were discussed, or they were already in the candidates’ campaign platforms. Gagne, the third-year political science honours student and Great [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Sarah Kohut, president A conversation with her parents during the Christmas break was a turning point for Sarah Kohut to set her mind on being the next St. Thomas University Students&#8217; Union president. She was at The Cellar Pub &amp; Grill when she found out the official results. She thought it was going to be [&hellip;]</p>