Carleton Academic Student Government

Hey Ravens! Did you know that this week is Eating Disorder Awareness Week?? Eating disorders and academic success work very closely together - here’s how ..

🧠The Prefrontal Cortex on Empty 🧠

Ever found yourself staring at a textbook, re-reading the same paragraph 5 times and still not absorbing anything? Or maybe feeing paralyzed by a simple assignment outline?

This is often your pre-frontal cortex sending you warning signs! This is the part of the brain that is responsible for focus, decision-making, and problem-solving, without the food, this function works very slowly. When your blood glucose levels drop, this critical area doesn’t get the energy it needs to perform. This can show up as:
-> difficulty concentrating in lectures or while studying
-> struggling to make effective choices (e.g procrastinating on tasks)
-> reduced ability to tackle complex problems

🧠The Hippocampus on Empty🧠

What is the point of studying if your brain can’t properly store or retrieve that information! That’s where your hippocampus comes in - the key to learning and memory retention. When your body isn’t getting adequate fuel:
-> your hippocampus struggles to form new memories, making lectures and readings feel like they go in one ear and out of the other
-> recalling information for exams becomes significantly harder, leading to blank stares even when you know you studied the materials
-> the entire learning process feels sluggish and inefficient

🧠The Amygdala on Empty🧠

We’ve all heard of “hanger”, but it’s more than just a funny meme - it’s your brain struggling to regulate emotions due to lack of fuel. Your amygdala, responsible for processing emotions like fear and anxiety, can become overactive when your body is stressed by inadequate nutrition.

This means that when you’re under-fueled
-> you might experience increased irritability or a shorter fuse
-> everyday stressors feel amplified, contributing to heightened anxiety
-> managing emotions during high-pressure situations (like exams) becomes significantly more challenging.

CASG recognizes the crucial role that Teaching Assistant’s and Contract Instructor’s play in the quality of education at Carleton. Their working conditions directly shape the learning environment and academic experiences that students receive.

Carleton University currently has no official policy governing TA-student ratios. As a result, some TA’s are responsible for a high number of students, reducing the opportunities for meaningful engagement and feedback.

Similarly, CI’s are facing growing expectations to complete pre and post-term work that falls outside the paid periods of their contracts. No worker should be expected to perform unpaid labour. CASG believes that fair compensation is essential to maintaining academic environments where both staff and students thrive.

CUPE4600 is now calling on the University to create a clear mandate that sets fair and sustainable standards for TA workloads and compensate CI’s for all required post-contract work at an hourly wage.

As students, we believe that TA and CI working conditions are our learning conditions because when they are supported we are supported.

CASG is proud to stand alongside both CUPE4600 Unit 1 and CUPE4600 Unit 2 petitions. We urge the Carleton University administration and the Board of Governors to provide their bargaining teams with a clear mandate to negotiate these issues in good faith.

As another fall semester approaches, CASG wants to ensure that you received your course outlines on time! 🖥️📝 Carleton’s Regulations require that all course outlines be released by August 27th, 2025. If you are missing any course outlines, please let CASG know via the form in our bio. 🔗 Course outlines can be found either through the Brightspace class portal or the Departments website. Please check your Brightspace before completing this survey.

CASG’s first-ever Student Voices article is now published on our website! 👩‍💻📚

The Student Voices Committee publishes articles regarding students’ academic concerns to better convey students’ academic experiences to the University. In their first article, SVC provides an update on CASG’s Course Outline Initiative, a project created to help ensure students are receiving their course outlines on time. 📥For the full read, check out the article on our website/link in bio!