'The best word to describe it is strange': financial crisis looms over Laurentian University this fall

Laurentian University students are getting ready to write exams this week, capping off a semester where the campus of northern Ontario's largest university came back to life, but definitely not back to normal.

COVID-19 is still keeping some classes online, but the school's financial crisis has seen enrolment drop by 14 per cent.

That means there are about 1,200 fewer students at Laurentian than this time last year and the university says that program cuts as part of its restructuring have seen 211 employees dropped from the payroll. 

But there's not much sparkle in some corners of the Sudbury campus, where you find hallways of abandoned offices, empty bulletin boards and holes left in the walls where posters used to hang. 

"Ghost town's not the right word, but it did feel like a vast space all of a sudden," says sessional instructor Matthew Heiti.

"The best word to describe it is strange."

Heiti, who teaches English literature and creative classes in what is now called the school of liberal arts, says morale is definitely low at the university, but "there's an excitement to give back in the classroom."

He says last year on Zoom he started leaving time at the end of classes for students to ask questions and share their feelings about the pandemic and Laurentian's financial problems, and he's continued that in person this fall. 

"People are just kind of confused," says Heiti.

"It's hard to be hopeful at a time when you know these huge systems above you are moving around and changing things and you can have no real affect on them as a student."

Emma Lelievre, a third-year sports administration student originally from Kirkland Lake, says she's happy to be back on campus this fall, but Laurentian's financial crisis is always in the background. 

"There's always jokes in class. Not a topic that goes unnoticed. It's definitely talked about a lot," she says. 

"'Well we can fix our problems, but I guess Laurentian can't fix theirs' or 'Yeah, that's what it's like going to a bankrupt school. Gotta love it.'"

Lelievre says heading into exams, some of her classmates are wondering aloud if they should transfer to another university and if more Laurentian programs will be cut in the coming months. 

"It's definitely something that's always going to be in the back of your mind. Like, what can actually happen here," she says.

"I try not to lose my focus, but some people that are writing they're like 'I'm not even sure I'm going to be in my program next semester. What's really the point of trying my best?'"

Tom Fenske, a science lab technologist and president of the Laurentian University Staff Union, says 41 of his members were laid off in the spring, but he says the majority have since been called back to work. 

"It takes a lot for someone to come back to a place that said it didn't want them any more," he says. 

"Their commitment to the students is unwavering."

But Fenske takes this as a sign that Laurentian's restructuring, reported by the auditor general to have cost $10 million so far, is not being properly thought out. 

"You know, we knew. We knew the cuts were too deep. We knew before they started. I think they knew," he says. 

"A lot of things that have been done to this institution are by people who don't believe in this institution. It's people that aren't going to be here when it's over."

Laurentian University declined CBC's requests for an interview, but said in a statement that "we have been able to recall some of the unionized staff members to fill other vacant roles within the organization and will continue to do so when there is a good fit."

The school will be in court on Dec. 6, for a hearing to decide which internal documents Ontario's auditor general should have access to. 

The creditor protection process is currently set to wrap up on Jan. 31.