Juno News - August 29, 2024


International student protest gets HEATED in Brampton


Episode Stats

Length

7 minutes

Words per Minute

178.84908

Word Count

1,411

Sentence Count

117


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 St. Clair stop. Scamming students. St. Clair stop. Scamming students. St. Clair stop. Scamming students.
00:00:07.040 We don't allow you to cover, capture our girls on your camera.
00:00:14.940 We're capturing everybody. No, we don't allow you.
00:00:23.960 Well, we're here at Ace Acumen College, a subsidiary college of St. Clair College,
00:00:29.160 and we're in Brampton, where behind me you can see there are, well, I would just say that it's over 100.
00:00:35.700 Social media says that it could be close to 200 students protesting their failing grades here at Ace Acumen College.
00:00:43.540 According to the protesters, they believe that Ace Acumen College has intentionally failed them,
00:00:50.020 that they have graded them too harshly, and they want to fail these students,
00:00:54.620 and these students say that they want fair grades and a fair opportunity.
00:00:59.160 To graduate from this college, we're going to go over to the protest,
00:01:04.360 ask some of these protesters some questions.
00:01:06.260 You know, it's really interesting.
00:01:07.900 I can see there's a, there's a, there's a, people in the corner on the second floor of Ace College.
00:01:12.600 They're filming us right now, actually.
00:01:14.380 The last time we were here in Brampton covering a student-led protest,
00:01:17.500 the reception we received wasn't so strong.
00:01:19.540 They didn't really speak to us.
00:01:20.560 So let's see what they have to say and see if they're actually going to be speaking to us.
00:01:23.560 Would you like to answer a few questions about what brings you out?
00:01:26.620 We don't want to talk with rebel media.
00:01:28.680 Oh, we're not rebel. That's, that's good.
00:01:30.500 We're true north.
00:01:31.200 True north also.
00:01:32.100 True north is a shame.
00:01:35.020 It's a very racist media channel.
00:01:38.580 We back our back media.
00:01:40.600 We back our back media.
00:01:42.260 As you just saw there, the, the, the, the protest organizer,
00:01:47.140 well, they're now saying, go back racist.
00:01:49.620 They, they, they don't want to speak to us.
00:01:51.800 And I'm not exactly sure why.
00:01:53.940 At first they thought we were rebel news, but we're not rebel.
00:01:56.240 And then they said, oh, it doesn't really matter.
00:01:57.680 We're not going to talk to you anyway.
00:01:59.120 But we do want to give them a chance to speak about why they're protesting,
00:02:04.200 to explain why they feel as though Acumen College has failed them in the wrong way.
00:02:10.120 And they're not very happy to see us.
00:02:11.880 They're saying, go back fake news, racist media.
00:02:15.220 It seems as though, it seems as though they don't,
00:02:17.800 they don't want to have their, any of their ideas challenged.
00:02:20.400 But frankly, we're not even here to challenge their ideas.
00:02:22.460 We actually just want to give them a chance to speak to us.
00:02:27.220 We back our back media.
00:02:29.240 We back our back media.
00:02:31.100 Do north shame, shame.
00:02:32.700 Do north shame, shame.
00:02:34.280 Does anybody have any examples of work, any work that you believe was wrongly graded?
00:02:50.620 Do not change it.
00:02:52.420 Do not change it.
00:02:53.980 We just asked these protesters if they have any examples of work which they feel has been wrongly graded by Acumen College professors and teachers to show Canadians that actually it is true.
00:03:06.880 They have been wrongly graded.
00:03:08.660 They have been wrongly failed.
00:03:09.720 They want to show that what they're, what they're saying is true.
00:03:13.400 We're just asking if anybody has any examples of work that they'd be willing to show us.
00:03:17.480 And nobody is willing to speak with us, unfortunately.
00:03:19.700 So I guess we'll never know, actually, if these students were wrongly graded.
00:03:23.080 Or maybe if the professors were right to fail them.
00:03:26.720 Who knows?
00:03:27.500 We don't know.
00:03:28.220 Do they deserve to pass?
00:03:29.360 Is there an argument to be had?
00:03:31.100 What makes you believe you were wrongly failed?
00:03:38.220 Sir, what makes us racist media?
00:03:42.880 Has any other media been here to help to answer your questions?
00:04:12.160 They are not feeling comfortable, so stop recording them.
00:04:16.580 So otherwise we have to complain.
00:04:18.280 So this is our first and last request, please.
00:04:20.540 Thank you.
00:04:21.220 They don't feel comfortable on your camera.
00:04:23.000 So please.
00:04:23.560 It's public.
00:04:23.940 It's public.
00:04:25.020 It is public.
00:04:26.060 It doesn't matter if it's public or private, but we are sitting on one side.
00:04:29.100 We don't allow you to cover, capture our girls on your camera.
00:04:34.660 Oh, we're capturing everybody.
00:04:35.880 No, we are not allowing you.
00:04:37.740 You guys can leave.
00:04:38.560 You're not going to allow us?
00:04:39.280 So what are you going to do to it?
00:04:40.600 What are you going to do?
00:04:40.960 We will complain to the police.
00:04:42.420 So now we're being told to stop recording these people at the protest, at the public protest.
00:04:48.080 They're saying that some of the women here are feeling uncomfortable with our filming them.
00:04:53.020 It is a public protest.
00:04:54.140 We have been filming everybody, as you can see.
00:04:55.960 But then he threatened us by issuing a warning to the police about us.
00:05:00.760 We haven't done anything wrong.
00:05:02.340 We're standing on a public sidewalk.
00:05:03.500 Everybody else here is sitting on a public sidewalk, and we're here reporting on this protest.
00:05:08.820 We just heard from the local building security here at Acumen College that Acumen College themselves are not interested in making any statements to the press to have the other side of the story, their side of the story told.
00:05:21.400 We were told, however, to reach out to St. Clair College, the parent college of Acumen.
00:05:26.860 A request for comment has been sent out to St. Clair College.
00:05:30.060 I think that was the least successful protest coverage video we've ever attempted to film.
00:05:35.800 I guess for both Rebel and True North, we're not going to get to speak to these students here, who claim that they have been wrongfully failed by the professors inside Acumen College, by the university.
00:05:47.060 We asked if they would be willing to share some of their experience with us, if they had any examples of their work, which they can prove, to show Canadians that actually, yeah, they should have passed.
00:05:57.420 This is good enough work to pass.
00:05:58.860 They're not speaking to us.
00:06:00.920 They even actually, at one point, threatened to call the police on us for simply doing journalism.
00:06:06.400 We don't see any other English-speaking media here today.
00:06:08.660 The only other media outlet was Red FM, a Punjabi media outlet.
00:06:11.480 So it seems like they don't want their story told and their side of the story heard, at least not in English.
00:06:16.620 You know, I have no doubt that many of these students were fed lies by this college and by other international colleges.
00:06:24.300 I'm not just pinning the blame on Acumen.
00:06:26.420 I'm pinning the blame on the entire international student system.
00:06:28.920 In many cases, many of these students are victims in a fraudulent system, in a system that tricks these students into thinking that they're going to receive an excellent education at a top-tier university.
00:06:41.080 Look, we all know this is not a top-tier university.
00:06:44.300 We all know this is not a top-tier college.
00:06:46.080 I believe many of these students were told that this was going to be a place to start a new life with a major education in this country.
00:06:52.880 But think about it.
00:06:53.700 Even if these students did pass, what kind of jobs are these students going to be able to receive in Canada with a degree, whether it be in business management or any other degree at these international colleges, from Acumen?
00:07:06.200 I bet you they're told some of them are going to end up on Bay Street.
00:07:08.500 We all know that is not the case here.
00:07:09.820 We all know that these schools, along with the government, along with all the other players in this system, are making money off these students.
00:07:16.960 So it's important that this coverage is balanced.
00:07:19.300 It's important to recognize that many of these students are indeed victims of a system that is there to get money from them.
00:07:26.160 But also, that doesn't mean you get to show up at a college and not do any work, even if the system is rigged against you.
00:07:31.880 That's the situation we're seeing right now.
00:07:33.800 In order for the story to be balanced, it's important that both sides are told.
00:07:38.080 But like I told you before, there's nothing we can do at this protest.
00:07:41.040 They don't want to speak to us.
00:07:42.280 There's not much else we can say.
00:07:43.400 We're going to stand this story, of course, and we're going to see if other protests, like the one taking place behind me, start popping up in more places across the country.
00:07:50.940 But for now, signing off from Brampton, Harrison Volkman.