Communique: Stance on the Stay Away

Greetings colleagues,

We hope this communique finds you well, despite the hardships we are currently facing. The SASCO Medical School Branch, having deployed SRC members to lead this campus for years and understanding the difficulties faced by any incumbent SRC during the registration period, decided to support the EFFSC-led MCRC in its efforts to provide leadership during this difficult time. However, we now write this communique because we realize that the incumbent leadership's actions and inability to provide leadership have divisive and adverse effects on the student body.

Stay Away

One of the most worrisome and critical issues is the stay-away implemented by the incumbent MCRC. We have noticed a few things with this stay-away that we feel are worth mentioning.

To begin with, implementing this stay-away has proven to be poorly planned. The MCRC has failed to coordinate a successful stay-away as students in LMMS attend classes while there is a growing sentiment to return to the hospital in SCM. During online classes, lecturers were encouraged to continue with the lesson as if students were present to record the lesson. This contradicts the communication sent to the student body by the MCRC. The MCRC told students we were on a stay-away and informed lecturers that they could record lectures. This action by the MCRC jeopardized the prospects of those lectures being rescheduled and therefore means that students lose out on the opportunity for interactive sessions.

Secondly, in most classes, SASCO cadres are the ones that prove to be in support of this stay-away by encouraging students to support the MCRC. The EFFSC seems to be releasing endless and senseless communiques and statements that only state what they feel or what they demand, but with no proper solutions. As SASCO, we understand the importance of showing a united front, especially during the registration period. However, it would be irresponsible of us as an organization to continue blindly supporting this when we have lost faith in the ability of this MCRC to deliver on the promises they make. We are not certain that students will not be disadvantaged, as the MCRC does not seem to provide a clear way forward. If they do not reply disrespectfully, they do not reply at all.

Thirdly, students are fighting amongst themselves in groups because of a lack of leadership, as the MCRC is failing to provide proper leadership. Therefore, students are forced to lead themselves. This internal conflict causes a lot of disagreements in class groups when classes are supposed to be united. Who can blame the students? They fear they will not recover the lost time, so it only makes sense that they are agitated. How are students expected to provide support when the transparency they were promised seems to be just that—a promise?

Finally, how does a stay away help recover time lost due to a stay-away? This stay away is senseless, and it is the thinking of a leadership that has run out of ideas. It does not make sernse that the solution to the current problem is a future problem because, surely, if we extend the stay away further, we will have a problem catching up as well as a problem with DP. It is without a doubt that this will cause further issues, as students have lost hope in the MCRC already.

Conclusion

We reject the motion of the School of Clinical Medicine to lose the week. We suggest the week starting on the 26th of June 2023 should be utilized to cover the lost time. We also call on the incumbent MCRC to do the honourable thing and resign. The chaos we witness in medical school is unheard of on this campus. It would be very wrong of us all as students to allow such an important office to be left unoccupied for an entire year.

Sincerely,

SASCO Medical School Branch