Can you picture yourself in 16 years? Where do you live? What job do you have? Did you travel the world? Do you have a family? What are your values and priorities?
Queen’s is trying to figure that out for themselves right now with it’s 2041 Bicentennial Vision. And it’s more than just where we want to be in 2041, but how we want to get there.
This is an urgent conversation as post-secondary institutions across Ontario have been hit with the reality that their operations aren’t compatible with government underfunding, cuts and a prolonged freeze to tuition, and severe restrictions on international student permits. Many of these concerns have been articulately communicated by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Colleges Ontario, and Council of Ontario Universities in an Open Letter to Minters Quinn and Bethlenfalvy.
Our new vision is being crafted at a rapid speed to provide what I see, as hope for and a clearer direction to the future as we enter our bicentennial.
The Principal is seeking input from anyone and everyone who cares about Queen’s. But so far, the number of students who have contributed is nowhere near representational of our campus. I sincerely hope as the consultation process winds down in the next month, more students voice their ideas about the future of Queen’s.
This moment requires creative thinking—whether you’re on your way to your first degree, have a Fine Art degree like me, or an iron ring on your pinky finger—this is necessary. Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns about the dangers of a single story, and without ample contributions, there will be a power imbalance in the story we’re writing for ourselves and we risk creating a Queen’s that will not reflect the energy and curiosity of its current and future students.
One of the things that keeps me awake at night—and gets me up in the morning, is a worry that as we all feel the constraints of our situation more than ever, we will shrink ourselves. That the intimidating influences of current threats to post-secondary funding will be limiting factors of our vision for the future. Now is not the time to shrink our programs, imaginations—or the stories we are sharing and hearing.
For the record, I still don’t know what my life will look like in a year from now, let alone 16. I’ll make plans, but I know there will be circumstances beyond my control that will change them—for better and for worse.
We might not be the people to see the vision through the finish line, but someone needs to start it. Help us meet our mission with audacity.
At your service,
Niki
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