Ryerson University’s School of Fashion is well known for its annual fashion production, Mass Exodus, which is one of the largest student-run fashion events in the world. Students in the Fashion Communication program have the opportunity to produce this show in their third year by taking the Fashion Promotion course stretching over both third year semesters. Students in the Fashion Communication program are given the choice between two mandatory options in their third year with one being that listed above (FFC 32A/B Fashion Promotion) and the other being Typography (FFC 552/652 Typography and Graphic Production).

This year, many Fashion Communication students were devastated to learn that they would be unable to take Promotion due to its high demand as well as an overall lack of seats available in the class itself. Dropping significantly from its previous capacity – from 50 students now down to a scarce 36 – has left the majority of the year (over 80+ students) unable to take the class they had originally intended and enrolled in.

What’s frustrating about this isn’t just the minimal amount of spots available in the class, but also the fact that many students from other disciplines have now replaced those for whom the course was originally intended. Of the total 36 students enrolled in Promotion currently, only 22 of them are in Fashion Communication; this means that almost 40% of those in this mandatory fashion course aren’t even in the necessary program to begin with.

Using a ‘luck of the draw’ style of selection, those chosen for Promotion were picked at random with the rest now forced to automatically sign up for Typography with no alternative to Promotion or future options in sight.

There will be no do-overs or second chances for us, we have lost our chance at this opportunity due to bad luck and a lack of priority within our own School of Fashion community.

So what is this petition about? What are we asking for?

1. We’re are asking for an increase in the seats available for the Fashion Promotion Course (FFC 32A & FFC32B) to allow all third year Fashion Communication students wishing to take the course a spot in the class.
2. We are also asking for the implementation of a ‘Fashion Communication students first’ policy to ensure that this issue will cease to occur for all future years to come.

This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity that has been robbed from Fashion Communication students despite being promised to the class from the first day of first year. If the Ryerson School of Fashion promotes this course as a pinnacle experience of the Fashion Communication program, why is it that more than half of the 2018 graduating class can’t even take it? 

Please sign our petition and support the Fashion Communication Class of 2018 in achieving our goals!