Search Results

Special Project Funding (SPF) Each year, the Dawson Student Union commits a portion of its budget to fund student-led projects, events or initiatives. The goal of Special Project Funding is to help students realize projects that impact the community or advance the experience of Dawson College students. The allocation of the fund is made on a rolling basis during the Fall and Winter semesters. Please note that you are encouraged to apply as early as possible when your project is ready. Usually, applications are reviewed within 7 days after submission. REQUIREMENTS: Be a Dawson College student May not solely be used for fundraising Must target the Dawson community or community at large directly Have duly completed the application process APPLICATION PROCESS: Complete the proposal template Complete the budget template Send the proposal and budget templates to the email: SPF@dawsonstudentunion.com . POST-FUNDING REPORT Complete the report Send the report via email to the DSU along with an updated budget containing exact numbers following the project and receipts/invoices For more information, please email SPF@dawsonstudentunion.com .

Student Council Term: 1 June 2025 - 31 May 2026 The Student Council is the legal Board of Directors of the Dawson Student Union. Its role is to supervise the management and administer the business and affairs of the DSU. It offers opinions and advice to the Executive Officers on issues that concern students. The Student Council is composed of 20 voting representatives from the four Academic Sectors, as well as the DSU President, VP Finance, VP Academic Affairs & Advocacy, and VP Operations & Services. The Student Council also includes 6 ex officio non-voting members: 4 Executive Officers, the Chair, and the Administrative Director who is the Corporate Secretary of the Board. The Student Council may appoint 2 non-voting Advisors who are not DSU Members. The Student Councillors and Executive Officers are elected every Winter semester by the DSU Members (Dawson College students) to serve a one-year term that typically runs from 1 June following their election to 31 May of the next year. TBD TBD caa.antoine@dawsonstudentunion.com caa.romane@dawsonstudentunion.com caa.sal@dawsonstudentunion.com smse.imogen@dawsonstudentunion.com smse.irem@dawsonstudentunion.com smse.ludivine@dawsonstudentunion.com smse.melina@dawsonstudentunion.com smse.peter@dawsonstudentunion.com ssbt.andrea@dawsonstudentunion.com ssbt.bela@dawsonstudentunion.com ssbt.clauderobin@dawsonstudentunion.com ssbt.gyuri@dawsonstudentunion.com ssbt.noyemi@dawsonstudentunion.com ssbt.valeria@dawsonstudentunion.com Chair Wilhelm Pamba chair@dawsonstudentunion.com Continuing Education (ContEd) Vacancy Vacancy Creative & Applied Arts (CAA) Antoine Archambault-Ramirez Romane Randrianantoandro Sal Francis Science, Medical Studies & Engineering (SMSE) Imogen Prince Irem Uyanik Ludivine Tueno Sofo Mélina Boumghar Peter Stoyanov Social Science & Business Technologies (SSBT) Andrea Dumont Franco Bela Naik Claude Robin Maniratanga Gyuri Kim Noyemi Mirzakhanyan Valeria Pena Caputto CONTED@dawsonstudentunion.com CAA@dawsonstudentunion.com SMSE@dawsonstudentunion.com SSBT@dawsonstudentunion.com Student Council Advisor (SCA) Derrick Essou Victoria Ormiston advisor.de@dawsonstudentunion.com advisor.vo@dawsonstudentunion.com Past Councillors

Dawson Student Union is an accreditated student association representing more than 10 000 Cegep students from Dawson College for over 15 years... Dawson Student Union Welcome to your union! CONTACT US 3040 Sherbrooke West Office 2F.2 Montreal, QC H3Z 1A4 Canada By email only : info@dawsonstudentunion.com For DSU Health and Dental Plan (Insurance) Inquiries: +1 438 796 2640 or Studentcare Contact Form For Media R equests : media@dawsonstudentunion.com The Dawson Student Union conducts its activities on land which is the unceded traditional territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka . .....

Dawson Student Union rejects MES Investigation Report and calls for Minister Déry’s Resignation 2 sept 2025 Updated 9:56 PM In the 2024-2025 academic year, the Dawson Student Union (DSU) took significant actions to advocate for its members, notably supporting a student-led strike for Palestine in November 2024. This event triggered tensions, leading to a politically biased investigation by the Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur (MES) into the safety of students at Dawson and Vanier Colleges. The resulting June 2025 report covered various issues, including a Special General Assembly (SGA) and its resulting student union strike, the legitimacy of campus prayer rooms, and threatened student associations’ financial independence by attacking the core principles behind the Act respecting the accreditation and financing of student associations. As a student union, it is our main objective to represent the entirety of our members. The DSU assures the safety of all students and is dedicated to protecting their rights. The SGA and November strike resulted from a democratic process initiated by a petition submitted in accordance with our rules by DSU members (who are all Dawson students). In response, the DSU followed all established procedures and acted accordingly to its legal obligations. This report is deeply flawed, the main discrepancies are outlined as followed: The prayer rooms on campus are open to all students, regardless of background or belief. They are intended to support the religious and spiritual needs of the student body and are not tied to or promoting any ideology or doctrine. They are there to ensure respect, accommodation and accessibility for all. The DSU stands in solidarity with all faith-based groups we oversee, and we are committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive and respectful environment. There is no link between prayer rooms and violence or intimidation on campus. Claims suggesting otherwise reflect the CAQ’s agenda of extreme secularism and its ongoing efforts to undermine charter-protected rights. Additionally, the report criticizes both associations for allegedly acting beyond a “non-political”mandate. Within the DSU structure, “non-political” means non-partisan politics, and the same interpretation applies to our affiliated bodies. As a student union, we are inherently political in that we advocate for the diverse interests of our members through democratic processes, regardless of whether these interests align with those of other institutions. The investigators were given that information and they chose to ignore it and apply their own false interpretation. In this regards , during our Annual General Assembly (AGA), the DSU membership democratically adopted two new positions: we stand in support of students, teachers, and professionals who condemn the decades-long occupation and genocide in Palestine. We equally strongly condemn anti-Palestinian, islamaphobic and antisemitic hate. Furthermore, we uphold the right to self-determination for all oppressed peoples worldwide. Finally, the report also talks about the Plant student newspaper and its constitution. The Plant was at its origins part of a course given at Dawson College. It is no longer the case and has operated as an unincorporated entity. They are currently being restructured to be an independent student newspaper formed as a not for profit, a process which was completed earlier this month. An outdated version of the constitution was provided to the investigators in good faith, with clarification that it was no longer in effect and that the structure would be updated in the current academic year. The investigators decided to spin this narrative, claiming they don’t follow their constitution, ignoring the provided context. The DSU remains committed to supporting and amplifying the voices of those we represent whereas the Ministry has made it clear it is committed to pushing an oppressive narrative, aiming to limit academic freedoms, and student expression. This report is purely political to justify the policies and actions of the CAQ. The DSU stands firm in its rejection of the investigation recommendations and we hope to assure all Dawson students that our main goal remains to support those at the heart of our operations. The DSU demands that Pascale Déry resign from her position as Minister of Higher Education due to a clear conflict of interest and general incompetence in protecting higher education in Quebec. If she refuses, we urge the premier to reassign the ministry to someone more qualified and move Pascale Déry to the backbenches during the upcoming cabinet reshuffle. Lastly, call on the Quebec government to reject all recommendations from the report.

In recent months, the Dawson Student Union has noted a rise in incidents of a discriminatory nature, particularly against DSU Clubs and independent student groups operating on campus. The Muslim Student Association, Islamic Relief, and Al-Raya have been continuously experiencing verbal violence, intimidation, and harassment while organizing on-campus events. Recent incidents targeting these groups, notably the Sisters of the MSA and Al-Raya during their Palestinian events, have brought to light the presence of gender-based discrimination, Islamophobia, and xenophobia. Such occurrences clearly demonstrate the urgent need to address these issues head-on. This persistent harassment has been extremely overwhelming to the targeted club members and created an atmosphere of anxiety and fear. As your student union, we reaffirm our commitment to fostering a campus environment free of any form of violence, harassment, and discrimination. We stand in solidarity with our Clubs, fully support them, and actively encourage them to participate to enhance student life. Should any Dawson community member have serious concerns about a club event, they ought to communicate them with the executives of the Dawson Student Union. The DSU firmly condemns all forms of discrimination. We are dedicated to protecting our members affected by situations of this nature and will take the necessary measures to counter these acts. May we remind you that every student needs to adhere to all regulations and policies of the College and the DSU. We urge all students to denounce any form of discrimination to the DSU and ask that respect and civility be upheld by all members of the Dawson community. The DSU urges any student implicated in situations related to violence, harassment and discrimination to make use of the DSU Hive’s and Dawson College’s services. You are encouraged to consult professional counselors at the College as well as the intervention workers below for support. For immediate or planned psychosocial interventions, contact the intervention workers below: DSU Hive Senior Coordinator: Extension 1082 - Office 2D.1A - hive_sr.coordinator@dawsonstudentunion.com Social Worker at the First Year’s office: Extension 1183 - Office 2D.01 - ychukhovich@dawsoncollege.qc.ca Social Work Technician at the First Year's office: Extension 1182 - Office 2D.0 - hphotopoulos@dawsoncollege.qc.ca Social Service Officer for Code of Conduct: Extension 1209 - Office 4E.2-6 - aleblancflorent@dawsoncollege.qc.ca First Year's Office Social Service Officer: Extension 1130 - Office 4E.3-2 - edunne@dawsoncollege.qc.ca If you are Muslim and would like to have a safe zone or talk with members of your community, you can contact the Muslim Association via : msa@dawsonstudentunion.com For immediate intervention in situations presenting signs of aggression, immediately contact Dawson Security: - Extension 1500 Office 2E.14 Subsequently, an intervention worker should be notified in order to ensure a proper follow-up.

MONTRÉAL, QC (May 26, 2021) - On May 26, 2021, 51% of students (1519 students) voted in favour of striking. This strike was initiated by students and further approved in a Special General Assembly that took place on May 24, 2021. This strike will entail a complete student boycott of final exams taking place from May 27, 2021, to June 4, 2021. This means that students are asked not to attend their final exams in person in response to their neglect of student concerns previously made clear by the body. Here are some important points to consider: This strike was initiated by students with the intent of boycotting controversial in-person final exams after the college’s refusal to adapt their final examinations to a more suitable format. The goal of the strike is to pressure the school to shift their exams online. For the time being the college has continued to indicate they intend on holding exams in person. Considering that almost half of students do not intend to go to these exams, this sheds doubt on their seriousness to move forward with mass failings. Students who have in-person exams that require certain material only available at the College such as Nursing or Radiology may still access the college to do their evaluations as stated in the strike resolution adopted. Only exams that do not absolutely require in-person such as math, chemistry and physics are subject to this strike. Students who do not have in-person exams are not asked to strike but may do so in support of their peers. We have made several attempts to negotiate with the college and find a compromise. Despite our worst proposals being presented, the college has refused to accept any sort of proposal which did not come from their own administration. We ask that no student congregates in front of the school as this would pose potential health risks related to COVID-19 and would be contrary to our concerns with regards to the in-person presence on campus. If you voted against the strike and do not want to boycott exams, you are still entitled to attend exams. The boycott is a right, not an obligation. The College has no logistical capacity to fail all students who do not attend their final. These implications for universities that are waiting for students to graduate. There would be pressure from both Universities and the Ministry for the college to not fail these students considering this would cause major issues in the entire higher education sector of Quebec. There are about 3000 students (30% of the student body) who were expected to write final exams in person at Dawson. Considering the college has space issues as seen during admissions this year, it would be impossible for them to fail even 200 students who decide to boycott final exams since this would mean these students would need to remain at Dawson for another semester. Considering the college already fills all space in the daytime, they would have no choice but to rescind applications at the College. Let's not forget that the college's space issues this year were caused by their decision to not expel a few students on academic probation due to the pandemic. The number of students who weren`t expelled was inferior to the current number of students who want to strike. The College would have a serious issue on their hands and they know it. They have admitted to this potential issue in negotiations that took place over the last few days. Despite their best efforts to influence the vote in internal elections, they have failed to convince a sufficient number of students to vote against such a strike. For those who boycott, it is a possibility that exams would be deferred to a later date likely in August. There is also the possibility of exams being offered online as well. There is no certainty at this time but all options remain realistic. Students should focus on how they can best try to pressure the college to finally give in to their concerns. The point of a strike is to put enough pressure on the college to force their hand into giving in. If a plurality of students boycott, the college will quickly realize they are outmatched. That is what will make them change their minds and that is what is important to consider when making a decision. The ball is in their court. They could have listened to our concerns months ago but chose to ignore us and to move forward despite very valid issues with their plans. Do not blame students who have valid health and safety concerns, do not blame the DSU who is just doing its job, blame the college for a lack of clarity, a lack of reassurance and a lack of openness towards its student body. Overall, they mismanaged this situation from the start and have refused to try to reconcile any concerns of students. A compromise would have swiftly reassured those concerned. It is truly unfortunate it has come to this. If enough pressure is put on the college, they will have no choice but to backtrack for the reasons mentioned above. We encourage all students to boycott their exams to ensure the strength of our position. The college will try to scare or threaten students but you must all stay strong. We know they cannot make act on their threats. We also ask that everyone remain civil and that any protest (online) with regards to Dawson disregard of student rights be done peacefully and with respect. We understand this is a stressful time and that some are concerned about the possible impacts of this strike. We will continue to be as forthcoming as we can be with you all but understand that the situation is unfolding. The injunction will be addressed in a separate statement as we are still awaiting a decision from the Superior Court of Quebec. For the full results of the strike vote, please click here. Please contact general@dawsonstudentunion.com for any questions