By Angela Hill

Stories of 2010, #8 First Nations University nearly closes

Dec 24, 2010 | 5:50 AM

Students at the northern campus of the First Nations University wrote their exams just before Christmas.

This came as a relief too many of the students, as their school was under serious risk of closure this year.

“It’s more settled among the student body and the staff and right now, our focus is on final exams and we feel more secure within the future of First Nations University. It may have taken us a few steps back, but sometimes you have to let go to move forward,” said Genevieve Godwin, president of student association at the northern campus in Prince Albert.

The first indication of trouble came during the month of April when federal and provincial governments announced funding withdrawals over concerns with governance at the educational facility.

There were protests, marches, live-ins and rallies as the students faced the loss of their education.

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The northern students were particularly concerned over the lack of other universities close to home.

“It keeps students closer to home, it’s a home,” said Godwin.

“That was our message when we were fighting for the school, for the university with our live-ins and creating awareness and our walks throughout the past year.

“This is our home and we need the university to keep First Nations people educated and growing,”
With restructuring at the university, the province returned some of the money, but federal funding has not returned to its original level.

This led to cutbacks across the province, including six positions at the northern campus.

“We were definitely impacted, when some of the changes that took place, we did lose staffing,” Godwin said.

But students and staff are adapting to the changes, she said.

“I just found that this year, last year was pretty intense, but we pulled together, we struggled, we persevered and we’re still here.”

As they university moves forward, Godwin said she hopes they’ll continue to make the voice of people on the northern campus heard.

ahill@panow.com

Previous stories from 2010's top 10:

Stories of 2010, #9 Fire Mentor Program cancelled

Stories of 2010, #10 Relay for Life success