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Students largely left out of federal budget
5:56 am | April 2nd, 2012Higher education in the context of research and innovation stole much of the spotlight in the Conservative government’s 2012 budget delivered March 29, but students and youth seeking greater financial aid were otherwise left in the dark.
The Conservatives placed a clear emphasis on partnerships between businesses and universities when it came to research funding: among their plans, they intend to dedicate $14 million over two years to double the Industrial Research and Development Internship Program, which currently supports 1,000 graduate students in conducting research at private-sector firms.Reflecting similar numbers mentioned in the 2011 budget, federal funding to the tune of $37 million annually was earmarked for Canada’s three research granting councils, set to begin in 2012–13.
Living up to rumours that have swirled in the media over the past few days, the government cut funding to Katimavik, a popular youth program that supported young Canadians traveling the country to participate in volunteer projects.
In the area of job creation specifically for youth, the Conservatives only announced they would add another $50 million over two years to the existing Youth Employment Strategy, which, according to the government, connected nearly 70,000 youth with work experience and skills training last year.
And while the government re-affirmed their plan to forgive student loans of up to $40,000 for new doctors and $20,000 for new nurses and nurse practitioners who plan to work in rural and aboriginal communities, starting in 2012–13, this plan had already been announced in last year’s budget.
With files from Emma Godmere. Read the full story here.
Ontario budget brings cuts to student supportCuts to student aid and support for international students are just some of the proposals included in the Ontario provincial budget released March 27.
The post-secondary sector will, however, see the 30 per cent tuition grant continuing, with a recommitment from the Liberals to fund more post-secondary spaces, as seen in last year’s budget.There will be cuts, however, to “streamline student financial assistance” following the introduction of the tuition grant, according to the budget, which was tabled Tuesday by Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.
The Ontario Work Study program will be cut, as will the Ontario Special Bursary and the Dr. Albert Rose Bursary. Several other grants will be eliminated, such as the Small Northern and Rural grant, which helps smaller colleges provide programs to attract students from smaller communities. Funding for the recruitment of international non-PhD students and study-abroad scholarships would also be cut, if the budget is passed.
But whether the budget will get the support it needs from the opposition parties remains to be seen.
Conservative Ontario leader Tim Hudak said that his party would vote down the budget, saying that the passing of the budget as is could lead to a situation where Ontario wouldn’t be able to cope with an “economic shock.”
NDP leader Andrea Horwath also expressed disappointment with the budget, specifically at the lack of a plan to create new jobs. Horwath announced her party would not necessarily vote down the budget immediately, because of concerns that doing so would trigger another provincial election only several months after the last.
With files from Lee Richardson. Read the full story here.
Fanshawe College students, staff and alumni react to the St. Patrick’s Day mayhem in London, Ont.The St. Patrick’s Day riot on London’s Fleming Drive has left many Fanshawe College students and alumni ashamed and embarrassed about the actions of a small number of people from the campus community.
Shaman Ayerhart, who graduated from Fanshawe’s music industry arts program in 2008, was so concerned about the negative fallout from the riot that he and several other alumni started an online petition called “Fanshawe College: Expel students involved in rioting.”
“We want them publicly expelled, we want their names, and we want them barred from ever going to Fanshawe again,” said Ayerhart. “We want our administration to take a stand against this sort of behaviour.”
Local businesses have shown that their decisions about who to hire may be affected by the events. Shawn Adamsson, vice-president of operations at rtraction, a digital design firm in London and vocal Fanshawe supporter, tweeted a message to student rioters in the early hours of March 18: “Dear #Fanshawe students: if you’re involved in this riot you needn’t bother putting a resume in front of me. Think about your future NOW.”
Not everyone believes that the riot is going to have as negative an impact on Fanshawe alumni and students as they may fear. Doug Millar, manager of Fanshawe’s Career, Co-operative Education and Community Employment Services, said he said he feels comfortable that, for the most part, students will still find employment opportunities in London and outside the city.
“Such publicity is never good, but our employers are smarter than that,” he said. “Our employers have worked with this college for over 40 years … the employers know that coming to the college to find workers is in their best interest as well.”
College President Howard Rundle agreed. Despite the history of violence around the Fleming area over the past years, “Employment success of Fanshawe graduates is higher than average amongst all colleges and has been all throughout this period,” he said, adding that he didn’t think the St. Patrick’s Day events will have an impact. “When people stop and think, [they] realize that we’re talking about maybe 100 misbehaving people and 16,900 behaving people. Every college or university of our size will have just as many misbehaving people.”
With files from Erika Faust and the Interrobang. Read the full story here.
About Campus News RoundupThis weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.
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UBC experiment cleared of animal cruelty allegations
6:29 am | March 27th, 2012An investigation into the deaths of four monkeys used in animal research at the University of British Columbia has found no evidence of animal cruelty.
“We’re clearly very pleased with being vindicated,” said Helen Burt, UBC associate vice-president of research. “There is no evidence whatsoever to support the allegations.”The review was conducted between March 5 and 14 by the Canadian Council for Animal Care (CCAC). In a 2011 study, four of 18 macaque monkeys suffered what UBC described as an adverse reaction to MPTP, a chemical used to induce symptoms of Parkinsonism in monkeys. They had needed to be euthanized after their symptoms accelerated. At the time, STOP UBC Animal Research (STOP) said the deaths weren’t an accident, but a result of “unnecessary, cruel and shocking” research.
But the CCAC’s investigation didn’t find evidence that the macaque deaths were preventable. “Regrettably, a small number [of monkeys] react very badly to the drug,” read the letter, written by CCAC executive director Clément Gauthier. “It is not possible to predict which animals are susceptible to even a very small dose.”
STOP says the result was unfortunate, but unsurprising. “We always hoped that they would see the cruelty before them but unfortunately their guidelines will allow for severe pain,” said spokesperson Anne Birthistle. “They obviously don’t see the harm.”
With files from Andrew Bates and the Ubyssey. Read the full story here.
No tuition reprieve for Quebec students in ‘shoestring’ budgetDespite an ongoing outcry from many students and their supporters, the Quebec government is sticking to its guns when it comes to hiking tuition.
The 2012–13 budget, released March 20 by Finance Minister Raymond Bachand, is designed to bring fiscal balance by next year. It follows the March 2011 education plan that calls for a 25-per-cent hike in revenue for universities by raising tuition, increasing government spending and encouraging universities to seek out more donations and sources of funding.For Quebec’s university undergraduates, who pay some of the lowest tuition fees in Canada, the university funding plan has meant that tuition will increase by $1,625 over five years, beginning with a $325 increment this fall. The added projected revenue leads to an obvious increase in next year’s budget numbers: in the 2011–12 school year, students paid $753 million for their education, but in 2012–13, students’ total contribution will be an estimated $804 million — an increase of $95 million.
In all, the total revenue for universities, which includes tuition, government funds, grants, other revenue streams and donations, is expected to be $4.26 billion dollars in 2012–13. That’s an increase of $142 million from 2011–12.
Bachand justified the increase in tuition by returning to a 2011 line that students must pay their “fair share,” that it is “reasonable” for students to pay a higher portion of their school fees as university graduates earn more than high school graduates. In 2008–09, the rate of student contribution was 12.9 per cent. In 2016–17, by the end of the hikes, it will have jumped to 17 per cent.
With files from Sarah Deshaies. Read the full story here.
St. Patrick’s Day riot in London leads to 15 arrests
What started out as a St. Patrick’s Day party spiraled out of control on Fleming Drive in London, Ont. this past weekend.
Fleming Drive, located near Fanshawe College, is a student enclave with a history of violent crimes and out-of-control parties — though none as large as this year’s incident, where around 1,000 people were involved in a riot that included thrown beer bottles, destroyed property, police vehicles pelted with bricks, police officers assaulted and a CTV news van set on fire. Initial estimations of the cost of the damages caused to vehicles, street pavement and light standards, as well as cleanup costs for the neighbourhood were close to $100,000.00.Six Fanshawe students were placed on suspension by the College over the weekend, and another two students were suspended on the morning of March 19. On March 21, London Police confirmed that 15 individuals have been arrested to date, 6 of whom are current Fanshawe students. Three arrests were made for public intoxication, while a total of 19 criminal charges were laid, ranging from unlawful assembly and resisting arrest to mischief under $5,000 and assaulting police with a weapon. London Police identified 10 of those charged, while two cannot be named as they are young offenders.
Fanshawe College president Dr. Howard Rundle said he was “extremely disappointed in the behaviours of all individuals who were involved in the incidents” and said he is taking the matter very seriously. “This is unacceptable. It will not be tolerated. It will not be excused … We will not have students who behave this way in our college community,” he said.
With files from Hannah Lector and the Interrobang. Read the full story here.About Campus News Roundup
This weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.
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Quebec student tuition protest ends in violence
9:12 am | March 18th, 2012An impromptu and lively student protest against tuition hikes worked its way through Montreal’s busy downtown streets March 7.
It soon turned violent when students attempted to block the entrance of the Loto-Québec building, which also holds the offices for the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities (CREPUQ). CREPUQ’s offices were being protested due to the organization’s support for the government’s tuition hikes. Riot police quickly stepped in and removed the students and eventually used tear gas to disperse the students, four of whom were injured, as well as one police officer.
The Coalition large de l’ASSE, an umbrella student union representing over 80,000 students, issued a statement late on March 7 reporting that a CÉGEP Saint-Jérôme student had been hit by a stun grenade in the eye from point blank range and had to be rushed to the hospital. According to a spokesperson for CLASSE, there is a strong chance he will lose sight in that eye from the injury.The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) arrested five students in total.
After leaving the Loto-Québec building, around 600 students marched haphazardly through downtown with the police following behind. Students stopped for a few minutes in front of the Education Minister’s office, the students came back to Place-des-Arts Metro and dispersed onto separate metro cars.
The SPVM was unavailable for comments as of press time.
With files from Pierre Chauvin, Julian Ward and The Link. Read the full story here.
Saskatchewan MP condemns University of Regina students’ boycott against IsraelWhat started as a motion passed by students at the University of Regina Students’ Union annual general meeting last month has become a contentious issue both on campus and off, following recent comments in the House of Commons from one of Saskatchewan’s members of Parliament.
During this year’s AGM, U of R student John Keitel took the floor and asked for a motion to be forwarded by the student’s union that would support the rights of Palestinian people and initiate a boycott, divestment and sanction (BDS) campaign against the state of Israel. The motion was then passed with a near-unanimous majority.Then, almost a month after the motion was passed, Saskatchewan Conservative member of Parliament for Prince Albert, Randy Hoback, took to the floor in the House of Commons and called for U of R president Vianne Timmons to condemn the motion being passed. Hoback called the resolution “one-sided” and “irresponsible.”
Although this motion has received backlash both on campus and off, URSU president Kent Peterson said that the students’ union will fulfill the mandate made by students at the organization’s AGM. Peterson spoke with university provost Dave Button to see how the administration would deal with the call from Hoback to decry the motion.
“I talked with Mr. Button and he made it very, very clear that the university has no intention of condemning a democratically voted-upon motion of the students’ union, because students want that and because the students’ union is a separate legal entity of the University of Regina and they have no say whatsoever over what we do,” Peterson said.
With files from Natasha Tersigni and The Carillon. Read the full story here.
McGillLeaks publishes confidential internal documentsDocuments from McGill’s Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) department, many of which are marked “confidential” or “highly confidential,” were posted online on March 3 by the anonymous group McGillLeaks.
In a statement on its website — which had no content remaining as of March 8 — McGillLeaks had announced its intention to release hundreds of documents over the next three weeks, starting with the release of DAR documents pertaining to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and defence industries.
The first release of documents contained donor and corporation profiles, correspondence pertaining to corporate funding, histories of corporate donations and relations, and industrial partnerships — notably, a Memorandum of Understanding between McGill and Canadian pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline Inc.
McGillLeaks outlined three goals for its public release of the documents: to provide an account of a “corporate university’s inner workings,” to supply accurate information regarding McGill’s relations with the private sector and to create transparency.
“This breach of confidentiality is an attempt to hurt the well-being of the university, and hurts individuals whose only intent is to support our students and professors. We deeply regret this invasion of their privacy,” McGill vice-principal (external relations) Olivier Marcil said in a statement.
According to the statement, the university has initiated a forensic analysis “to determine the source of [the] violation of our confidential files, and we will take immediate legal action against those who are responsible.”
The release of confidential files has raised concerns over the protection of private information and general security in the campus community. In a March 6 email to all staff and students, Marcil indicated that McGill has called the police.
With files from Erin Hudson and The McGill Daily. Read the full story here.About Campus News Roundup
This weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.
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Post-recession, it’s an ‘uphill battle’ for young people seeking jobs: study
9:11 am | March 18th, 2012With 2012 convocation only weeks away, future graduates are looking at a grim job market as young workers have been the worst affected by the past recession, according to a recent study by TD Economics.
The 2008 recession hit young workers hard: workers under 25 held more than half of the 430,000 jobs that were lost over the recession, though they represent one-sixth of the labour force.Those between the ages of 20 and 24 have fared better than those in the 15 to 19 bracket, but job recovery is still dismal for all young workers though the recession has ended. And 175,000 young workers have left the labour market since the start of the recession — meaning they just stopped looking. Youth unemployment now stands at 14.5 per cent, double that of the regular population.
Though Canada’s baby boom generation has just started to hit 65, many older workers are either returning from or delaying retirement to remain in the workforce. There has even been a “surge” in job creation for older workers post-recession, as 400,000 new jobs overall have been created for workers over 25 since before the recession began.
It will likely take a few more years before the labour market re-balances itself. Past studies have shown that it can take up to 10 years for young workers to regain their footing in the economy after a recession, according to Francis Fong, economist and author of the study.
With files from Sarah Deshaies. Read the full story here.
Quebec Ministry of Education fines Concordia over payoutsUpset by Concordia’s massive spending on severance packages for retiring senior administrative staff, the provincial Ministry of Education will reduce the university’s funding by $2 million starting April 1 of this year.
“Concordia University has shown a lack of control and should face the consequences,” Quebec Minister of Education Line Beauchamp said in a press release March 9.“Healthy management is synonymous with transparency and efficiency,” she wrote in a letter addressed to Peter Kruyt, chair of the university’s Board of Governors.
In the letter, Beauchamp explained that she was particularly concerned about $3.1 million given to former Concordia president Judith Woodsworth and five administrators.
The university also paid $1 million to Woodsworth’s predecessor Claude Lajeunesse.
“We take note of the Minister’s decision and will act in accordance with our responsibilities,” Concordia President Frederick Lowy, said in a statement on March 9.
The university announced last week it would spend $25,000 to hire two external auditors to examine the payouts.
“I would like to assure our community that Concordia is committed to prudent fiscal management,” said Lowy.
With files from Riley Sparks and The Link. Read the full story here.
Simon Fraser University research team finds potential treatment for Alzheimer’sA research team at Simon Fraser University has created a treatment that may slow down or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
David Vocadlo, a chemistry professor at SFU and Canada Research Chair in chemical glycobiology, led a team of seven researchers on the project, and the team’s paper has been published in the latest edition of Nature Chemical Biology.It’s known from previous research that the impaired use of glucose in the brain is an early feature of Alzheimer’s. This decreased ability to use sugars in the brain potentially leads to clumping of a protein called “tau.” According to Vocadlo, it is this clumping of tau that causes the death of neurons in the brain, the process that leads to these impairments. This degeneration causes many different brain diseases and deficiencies such as motor control impairment, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
The SFU team has been working since 2008 with the basic idea that they could chemically boost sugar levels in the brain to lessen or eradicate the development of these problems. Two researchers in the study discovered that an inhibitor that the team created slows down this removal of sugars from the tau protein. In an eight-month trial, the research team fed several mice the inhibitor and left a portion of the mice without. After the trial period, it was found that the mice who had been treated showed significant improvement in the health of their brains; an average of 50 per cent improvement. The mice that were treated had 40 per cent more neurons in their spinal cord, better motor control, and had lost less weight and muscle than their untreated counterparts. Basically, the results showed that the degeneration of their brains had been greatly slowed down.
“I think this could lead to therapeutics that slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s,” said Vocadlo of the results. The SFU team is interested in following up on their previous study to find a stronger treatment that might eradicate the disease entirely in mice.
With files from Alison Roach and The Peak. Read the full story here.
About Campus News Roundup
This weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.
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Hepatitis C vaccine signals landmark University of Alberta discovery
6:26 pm | March 12th, 2012A University of Alberta team has made a breakthrough in hepatitis C research, creating a vaccine that could potentially combat all forms of the liver-destroying virus.
The vaccine was developed by Michael Houghton, a U of A researcher who first discovered the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 1989. The vaccine exposes the human body to a non-infectious sub-unit of the HCV so that it can begin developing antibodies to protect against the virus. These antibodies are able to cross-neutralize against the seven genotypes of the virus.
John Law, a member of the U of A research team, predicts that it will still take another five to seven years before the vaccine is ready to be released. The research has only completed the first of three phases needed for the FDA to approve the vaccine. Although its safety has already been tested, the vaccine will require further testing in a clinical setting.The vaccine has already been presented by the research team to various other members of the virology community.
Last weekend, the team travelled to Montreal to present their findings at a Canadian symposium for hepatitis C. Law is hopeful that the team can improve upon their vaccine further before releasing it to the public.
With files from Andrew Jeffrey and The Gateway. Read the full story here.
New Year’s Eve sexual assault at the University of Saskatchewan triggers response policy reformA six-week delay in notifying the campus community about a reported sexual assault has stirred up questions over the university’s policy when responding to violent attacks.
The incident, which is said to have happened in the university’s McEown Park high-rise residences during the early morning hours of Jan. 1, was announced in a mass email sent out to students, faculty and staff at the University of Saskatchewan on Feb. 17. The message said university officials were notified of the assault in early January, that drugs were likely involved and that the investigation was being conducted by the Saskatoon Police Service.
In an email to The Sheaf, David Hannah, associate vice-president of student affairs, said the incident did not set-off an immediate campus-wide alert because based on the initial details, the university did not think there was a continuing threat to the community.
Following two high-profile sexual assaults on campus in 2003 and 2004, the university called for an external review of safety policies on campus. The ensuing report offered dozens of recommendations, including increased foot patrols by Campus Safety, more cameras in central locations and a 24-hour SafeWalk program. Additionally, the report recommended posting “alerts electronically via email within 24 hours of the incident being reported to security.”
Following the 2004 safety review, Hannah said, the university chose to instead send email notifications only when there was an ongoing or continuing threat to the public. But “this incident has caused us to go back and review that policy,” he said in a subsequent interview.
Hannah said a new formal policy will clearly outline what events will result in a campus-wide notice and how quickly those notifications will go out. The university has also recently purchased an emergency text messaging system that students voluntarily subscribe to their mobile numbers and then receive a text message if an emergency situation arises on campus. The system is expected to launch by the end of the semester.
With files from Daryl Hofmann and The Sheaf. Read the full story here.
Camosun College radio station goes off-air, digital-onlyAs of March 4, Camosun College’s radio station will have been taken off the airwaves and set up online. CKMO Village 900, a non-profit, educational radio station located at the Lansdowne campus, has stopped broadcasting its AM frequency and will only be available to listeners by streaming online.
The radio station, established in 1973 and formerly heard on an FM frequency, provides training for students in the applied communication program (ACP).
In September of 2000, the station struck a deal with Rogers Communications to relinquish their old FM location with Rogers agreeing to pay for the use of an AM transmitter. When the deal with Rogers recently expired, CKMO’s board of directors decided that the cost to keep the AM transmitter was too large.
Allie Bowman, assistant promotion director at the Zone and ACP grad, says going digital isn’t a bad thing.
“I think it’s going to be beneficial,” she says. “Village 900 now gets a chance to play in the social media world, intrigue new listeners, and, more importantly, students will still be able to gain that valuable studio experience. It’s possible that Village 900’s current supporters will not be able to adapt this change, but streaming online will appeal to a whole new demographic.”
With files from Sarah Henderson and Nexus. Read the full story here.About Campus News Roundup
This weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.
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Reading comprehension proves to be difficult for some university students
1:55 pm | February 19th, 2012George Georgiou, director of the U of A’s Reading Research Lab, has identified cognitive development issues that cause some students to struggle with reading comprehension — though their ability to read may be perfectly fine.
By studying a sample of roughly 500 U of A students, Georgiou found that a small percentage had an undetected reading difficulty known as a specific reading comprehension deficit. This deficit occurs when working memory doesn’t allow for full comprehension of a text, even if a student can easily read it.
About three to five per cent of the total sample of students showed signs of this specific reading comprehension deficit, matching up with the rate going into the study.
The cause of this deficit, Georgiou said, lies in cognitive development. These students lack the working memory to process, store and understand what they read, particularly if the text is long and contains complex ideas.
The reason this deficit often goes undetected is that strategies to identify reading difficulties prior to post-secondary education deal mostly with areas of reading ability rather than comprehension.
The study is ongoing, and the next step is to help the students in the study deal with their reading comprehension difficulty through a number of simple strategies.
With files from Piper Whelan and The Gateway. Read the full story here.
University of New Brunswick counsellors to look at campus drinking
University of New Brunswick Counselling Services wants to gain a clearer picture of alcohol use on the UNB and St. Thomas University campuses.UNB Counselling director Rice Fuller said he hopes to send out an alcohol-use survey via email for students on both campuses.
There’s a lack of local data about drinking habits on campus, Fuller said, and in light of the death of STU student Andrew Bartlett in 2010, he thinks the data could be useful.
Bartlett, a fourth-year student, died after a heavy night of drinking at a rookie party for the men’s volleyball team.
Fuller said the death of Jonathan Andrews is another reason to look for more detailed statistics on campus drinking at STU and UNB. Andrews was a first-year student at Acadia University. Last September, Andrews was found unresponsive in his dorm room after a night of drinking. He later died in hospital.
Last year, 924 different people visited UNB Counselling. A little more than 22 per cent of those visitors were STU students.
Statistics show rates of binge drinking are higher in the Maritime provinces than in the rest of Canada.
The Canadian Campus Survey, conducted in 2004 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, found 24.5 per cent of students surveyed in Atlantic Canada reported “heavy-frequent drinking.”
This is higher than any other region in Canada, with Ontario the closest, at 18.8 per cent of students who reported heavy-frequent drinking.
With files from Karissa Donkin and The Aquinian. Read the full story here.
Newcomers storm SaskatchewanReversing a longstanding trend, the last five years has seen more people move to Saskatchewan than leave, according to new census data that show the province making a sharp turnaround in growth after years of decline.
For the first time since 1986, there are more than one million residents living in the province.
The rise in population, Statistics Canada says, is mainly the result of a wave of immigration and a spike in interprovincial migration, both groups likely drawn to the province’s red-hot economy and the high likelihood of landing a job.
From 2006 to 2011, Saskatchewan saw a 6.7 per cent jump in its population, compared to back-to-back losses of 1.1 per cent in each of the previous two census periods. The comeback makes Saskatchewan the third-fastest growing province in the country, trailing only British Columbia and Alberta.
In addition to attracting people, the province may also be retaining more residents. This is particularly significant when university graduates decide whether to stay in Saskatchewan or move elsewhere.
The U of S, which keeps updated statistics on graduates, provided the Sheaf with data that seemed to show a long-term trend of people increasingly choosing to stay in the province after getting their degrees. Only about 55 per cent of graduates from the 1980s remain in the province, based on the current addresses the U of S has for them. The percentage of grads who ended up settling elsewhere in Canada hovers around 40 per cent for the same decade.
This trend starts to reverse in the 1990s and early 2000s, with more than 60 per cent of grads settling in Saskatchewan while those leaving for other parts of Canada drops to the low 30s. Finally, the numbers from the last several years show as many as three quarters of U of S grads with Saskatchewan addresses and only about a fifth with addresses elsewhere in the country.
With files from Ishmael N. Daro, Daryl Hofmann and The Sheaf. Read the full story here.
About Campus News RoundupThis weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.
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UVic anti-abortion club loses public space privileges
1:50 pm | February 19th, 2012After more than three months of committee deliberation, the University of Victoria Students’ Society (UVSS) has passed a motion disciplining UVic’s anti-abortion club Youth Protecting Youth (YPY) for hosting a contentious demonstration on campus in November. The “Choice Chain” demonstration featured club members standing in the quad holding large pictures of purportedly aborted fetuses with the word “choice?” overtop.
During a well-attended UVSS board meeting on Feb. 6 that saw a heated debate over interpretation of the Society’s harassment policies, directors voted in favour of the complaints committee’s recommendations, which included a censure and a suspension of the club’s booking privileges for public spaces until spring 2013.“I’m disappointed with the decision,” said YPY vice-president Catherine Shenton. “As much as I recognize that people are very upset with our actions, I believe that freedom of speech is more important than feelings.”
Director of student affairs Jenn Bowie, who chaired the complaints committee that recommended the disciplinary action, made it clear that the decision was made as a result of policy violation, saying arguments surrounding the suppression of free speech did not excuse YPY from publicly harassing students with graphic images of abortion.
The motion, which passed with 15 votes in favour, two abstentions and one opposed, did not revoke YPY’s club status or funding. The group will continue to receive booking privileges for Clubs Days and its meetings, but has been ordered “not to repeat the Violations and, in particular, not to organize or conduct ‘Choice’ Chain or similar events,” according to the meeting agenda.
YPY indicated they have no intention of defying the Board’s decision, though they plan on holding a meeting to re-evaluate and discuss their situation.
With files Brandon Rosario and The Martlet. Read the full story here.
McGill students occupy administration building
Following a morning rally Feb. 7 in support of McGill University campus radio station CKUT and the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG), a group of about twenty students occupied the office of Morton Mendelson, the university’s deputy provost. The students occupying Mendelson’s office are holding a “suprise resignation party” for him in protest of the administration’s decision to invalidate the results of the fall 2011 existence referenda for CKUT and QPIRG.
Students have outlined two demands: that the McGill administration recognize the existence referenda and that Mendelson submit a formal letter of resignation. Mendelson was with occupiers in his office for a brief period of time.At around 3:30 p.m., students occupying the James Administration building in both the lobby and sixth floor were requested by provost Anthony Masi to leave. Students in the lobby received a written notice stating that complaints will be addressed in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures.
“Your occupation of the premises may also be a violation of the law, and the university has not excluded any options regarding what actions it will take because of this,” read the statement.
Earlier in the afternoon, a second group of students and faculty moved to protest outside of the James Administration building, and gained entry to the front door despite attempts by security guards to secure the entrance. Once protestors gained entry to the lobby, guards blocked both the stairwell and elevators, eventually turning off elevator service.
The statement from the sixth floor said that the group “will not leave” until their two demands are met. “We are here to party, and to stay,” the statement read.
About 70 students spent the night of Feb. 7 in and around James Administration building. Students on the sixth floor negotiated with associate vice-principal of university services Jim Nicell on the evening of Feb. 7 regarding their two demands.
With files from Erin Hudson, Queen Arsem-O’Malley and The McGill Daily. Read the full story here.
Syphilis rates on the rise in New BrunswickThe number of syphilis cases is rising in the province, according to a New Brunswick Public Health coordinator. Karen Wilson, communicable disease coordinator with New Brunswick Public Health, says that the province is currently in outbreak mode for syphilis. Wilson says that an outbreak is a term used when rates are significantly higher than normal. Between 2010 and 2011, syphilis rates almost doubled among people aged 20 to 24.
The data from Public Health is preliminary, unpublished and was retrieved from the system in October 2011.There are more than 100 strains of HPV, which can be present without any symptoms. Factsheets say that about three out of four sexually active Canadians will contract this virus at some point; for women, it can be detected during a routine pap test.
Wilson told the Brunswickan that chlamydia rates have gone up ten per cent in the Fredericton area, and five per cent in the entire province. The two most commonly affected age groups are people aged 15 to 19 and 20 to 24. Gonorrhea rates have gone up five per cent in the province, and affect the same age groups as chlamydia.
Factsheets from the government of New Brunswick say that the people most at risk for sexually transmitted infections are those under 25 who are sexually active with multiple partners.
Wilson encouraged all people who are sexually active to practice safer sex by always using protection and getting tested for sexually transmitted infections regularly.
With files from Alannah Duffy and the Brunswickan. Read the full story here.
About Campus News Roundup
This weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.
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Dismissed Concordia president returns to teach
12:31 pm | February 5th, 2012After walking away in late 2010 from the top position at Concordia University with just over $700,000 in severance pay, former president Judith Woodsworth returned to start teaching translation at the university since the start of the winter semester.
“I am fundamentally an academic,” Woodsworth told Canadian University Press when asked why she would return to Concordia after her dismissal. “I feel still that this is a place where I belong. Some people might find it strange, but they’re focusing on the wrong things, maybe.”
Woodsworth’s dismissal raised the ire of students, staff, alumni and the public when she was let go under mysterious circumstances a few days before Christmas in 2010.
Her severance package raised eyebrows about university funding, since Woodsworth had requested, with other university leaders, that the provincial government raise tuition fees. Tuition fee increases in Quebec will begin in fall, 2012.
The dismissal of two presidents within a few years stirred up outrage, with media nationwide taking note. Last summer, three external investigators released the Shapiro report, the cost of which came to at least $60,000. The investigation condemned Concordia’s governance, saying the university needed to overcome a “culture of contempt.”
While Woodsworth has dropped hints in the past that she was forced out of her position, she indicated she would not discuss the details of her dismissal because of a non-disclosure agreement.
With files from Sarah Deshaies. Read the full story here.
Students more than pay off tuition subsidies through future tax revenue: study
A new study argues that students aren’t the freeloaders that some might believe them to be. “Paid in Full: Who Pays for University Education in B.C.,” published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), has found that British Columbians with a post-secondary degree contribute more to the public coffers through future income taxes than it would cost taxpayers to entirely pay for their entire degrees now.
In the study, Iglika Ivanova, an economist with the CCPA and the author of the report, compared how much it costs to fund a four-year degree to the expected lifetime income tax contributions of a university graduate. The higher earnings of degree-holders combined with lower rates of dependence on welfare or employment insurance meant that students more than end up end up paying their own way.According to her findings, governments could cover the entire cost of tuition twice-over and would still be getting a bargain.
The CCPA study didn’t take into account the various other ways that degree-holders contribute to the economy, such as by paying higher consumption taxes, contributing to economic growth and through innovation.
Ivanova went on to argue that because many prospective students experience “sticker shock” when confronted with the high cost of a university degree, they may decide to pass on higher education and that governments are therefore missing out on the potential tax revenue.
Ivanova emphasized that regardless of how high tuition fees are, students end up paying for their degrees one way or another — it’s just a matter of when.
“It’s economically feasible and fairer to ask graduates to pay for their degrees through taxes after graduation rather than asking them to pay through high tuition fees up front.”
With files from Arshy Mann. Read the full story here.
University of Saskatchewan students sit out national tuition fees campaign
On Feb. 1, dozens of rallies took place at Canadian universities as part of a National Day of Action to reduce the costs of post-secondary education. The event was sponsored by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), a national student lobbying group, and organized by individual student unions affiliated with CFS.
The University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU), however, did not take part.“We are being left out, but we’re OK with being left out of this particular day of action because of who the organizers of it are,” said USSU president Scott Hitchings.
The USSU has a long and tangled history with CFS. Once a prospective member, the students’ union severed its relationship with the lobbying group — a move that was not viewed favourably by CFS, given that students had voted in a referendum to join as full members. But the results of that referendum were disputed by the then-USSU executive. A legal battle ensued that eventually made its way to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, which decided in favour of the USSU.
Kent Peterson, president of the University of Regina Students’ Union and Saskatchewan representative on the CFS national executive, said that U of S students could gain from active participation in national efforts and that despite the USSU’s reluctance, “there is an appetite for these things at the undergraduate level at the University of Saskatchewan.”
He added, “I hope there will be a willingness on the part of the executive there to actually participate and do something to benefit their members.”
“From what we can tell, the CFS doesn’t have much sway anyway with the government,” Hitchings explained, but if national lobbying efforts do succeed, “the government is going to give those benefits to all universities across Canada.”
With files from Ishmael N. Daro and The Sheaf. Read the full story here.
About Campus News RoundupThis weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.
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University of Alberta student embezzled $27,000 from Business Students’ Association
1:22 pm | January 28th, 2012A student embezzled more than $27,000 from a faculty association at the University of Alberta, according to a statement released Jan. 23 to faculty of business students.
In their statement, the Business Students’ Association (BSA) revealed that $27,745 was stolen from a BSA bank account over the course of the summer, a fact which the association became aware of in August 2011.When asked, the BSA said they could not comment on the investigation or the identity of the student, but BSA president Kimberley Menard said that the association is working with the Students’ Union (SU) to ensure that this does not happen to any other clubs in the future.
The BSA statement said the student in question acted alone, although all transactions are supposed to require two authorized signatures. Menard was unable to elaborate on how the student was able to act on their own, although their statement indicated it was due to a bank error.
Elaine Geddes, associate dean for the school of business’ undergraduate program, stressed that the individuals involved in the investigation are obligated not to provide any information about the student in question.
University of Alberta Protective Services director Bill Mowbray confirmed that the student implicated in the embezzlement was charged under the Code of Student Behaviour, and added that the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) still has a file open for this case.
With files from April Hudson and The Gateway. Read the full story here.
Quebec students set to strike March 22
After a day-long meeting Jan. 21 in Quebec City, the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ) and the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ) have reaffirmed the intention to strike on March 22 to protest rising university tuition fees.
But first, the individual members groups need to seek approval from their constituents.“We have the mandate to ask our associations to go on strike, but first they need to ask their members if they want to, and then we will be able to say the FEUQ is on strike,” said president Martine Desjardins, who made the announcement with FECQ president Léo Bureau-Blouin in Montreal on Jan. 23.
The date was chosen earlier in December to coincide with the timing of the release of the finance minister’s budget.
Desjardins said that FEUQ, the student lobby group that is often a government negotiator, has not been invited to sit in on the pre-budget consultation meetings that are now taking place.
After walking out of the same meetings in December 2010, she said their calls have not been answered by the finance department: “We asked them to talk with us. But they won’t do it.”
Desjardins added that a protest is also planned for Feb. 14, when the National Assembly returns from a break, and stunts will be staged at different campuses a weekly basis up until March 22.
Quebec premier Jean Charest has said the government will go through with gradual tuition hikes, beginning in fall 2012, to culminate in a total rise of $1,625.
With files from Sarah Deshaies. Read the full story here.
Newly elected student representative sues Thompson Rivers University
A recently elected student representative to Thompson Rivers University’s board of governors and senate is in the midst of suing TRU for 16 different claims.
Adrian Miller, who was elected by students in an online election held between Dec. 8 and Dec. 22, says in legal documents filed to the court that the university failed to reasonably accommodate his disability and medical problems, the nature of which were left unspecified.
Miller’s documents go on to say that when he went to senior TRU officials to ask for help in receiving accommodation, they ignored or squelched his complaints and failed to apply university policy. The documents also say that TRU sought to make Miller miserable so he would leave the university.
The university has denied the allegations. TRU’s documents also claim that TRU properly investigated any complaints and that Miller failed to use internal processes to seek remedy to his complaints even after being told about them.
According to the legal documents filed by Miller, he is asking TRU to pay $249,999.99 in damages, write a letter of apology to him, pay for university and living expenses from September 2007 to the time his lawsuit is completed, pay for all future post-secondary education and admit him unconditionally to the faculty of law with a full scholarship in compensation for his troubles.
Miller has faced legal issues in the past. Court documents revealed that he was convicted of damaging an apartment in Prince George from which he was evicted. Miller was also arrested Jan. 19 on an outstanding warrant on a new breach charge, but was released a few hours later.
Miller was unavailable for comment by press time.
With files from Devan C. Tasa and The Omega. Read the full story here.
About Campus News Roundup
This weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.
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Ontario tuition grant falls short for province’s private universities
5:34 am | January 23rd, 2012In late December, 2011, Ontario’s Liberal government announced the introduction of the Ontario tuition grant, designed to cover 30 per cent of the average tuition paid by Ontario students. However, mature students, students restricted by the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), students attending out-of-province universities and students attending Ontario’s privately funded universities are not eligible.
In efforts to cover the annual $420-million cost of the grant, which will assist more than 300,000 post-secondary students across Ontario, the province will be reallocating funds from the Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top scholarship, the Textbook and Technology Grant, and the Ontario Trust for Student Support.
While privately funded Ontario universities were not able to participate in the Ontario Trust for Student Support program, a $25-million fund that matched donated institutional scholarships and bursaries, their students were able to receive both the QEII Aiming for the Top scholarship and the Textbook and Technology Grant.
According to the ministry, there are 34 students currently holding QEII Aiming for the Top scholarships at privately funded schools across Ontario. All current QEII recipients will be able to renew their scholarship for up to three years, provided they meet the eligibility criteria; however, no new QEII scholarships will be offered in the 2012–13 academic year.
Redeemer University College and Tyndale University College are the only two private, government-approved and accredited universities in the province. There are 15 other not-for-profit private institutions that offer religious programs and degrees, and these are also excluded from the Ontario Tuition Grant.
With files from Brittany Knapper and The Crown. Read the full story here.
University of New Brunswick looking to improve student dropout ratesThe Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC) reported in a recent survey post-secondary institutions in the Maritimes lose about 33 per cent of students at the end their first year. Of that, the humanities, arts and social sciences faculties endure the lowest retention rate, with only 73 per cent of students returning for year two.
The University of New Brunswick has watched its enrollment rates etch a consistent path up and down graphs for the past decade, rounding out at just over 12,000 for the Fredericton and Saint John campuses. The rates haven’t fallen, but they haven’t gone up. In light of this, the university administration has pledged to enhance the student experience and boost retention through a number of initiatives falling under the Student Experience Measurement Plan.
The university has scoured the MPHEC database in search of trends and a possible answer to increasing student persistence. UNB’s own research demonstrates the most popular factors in students leaving fall outside the academic realm. Financial planning and time management top the list of many, however, the need for a more in-depth and accurate depiction remains.
The need for stable or increasing retention rates is pertinent to the financial administrators, as well. The university uses a predictive number to account for the level enrollment when outlining the annual operating budget. Tuition fees account for roughly 30 per cent of the budget, and a significant drop could lead to a shortfall.
With files from Colin McPhail and The Brunswickan. Read the full story here.
UBC prof launches free online ‘university’ aimed at developing worldMoney could be becoming less of a factor in getting a university-level education. Next Generation University (NextGenU) has opened its virtual doors to become one of the first services in Canada to offer university-level education. Erica Frank, founder and executive director of NextGenU and a professor at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, began working on NextGenU a decade ago.
She has made training people for the health sector a priority for the program, which began offering courses this December in the health sciences field. It is free of cost, barriers and advertisements.
Though primarily directed toward people in developing countries, NextGenU.org’s courses can be taken by anyone for either credit at an accredited institution or solely for continued education and training. Content for the courses comes free of charge from professors and institutions from all over the world, and evaluation is done through peer and mentor assessment in addition to quizzes and final exams coordinated by NextGenU.
Some have raised concerns over the use of the term “university” with the NextGenU site, but Frank defended the quality of NextGenU, saying state-approved institutions have contributed greatly.
“Universities are critical as research enterprises, as teaching enterprises. I am very grateful to live in a country where we can have an outstanding institution like UBC that lots of people can afford to go to. But that luxury doesn’t exist every place,” Frank added.
With files from RJ Reid and The Ubyssey. Read the full story here.About Campus News Roundup
This weekly roundup of student news across the country is compiled by Canadian University Press: North America’s only student press co-operative. CUP is a bilingual organization, owned and operated by almost 90 student newspapers across the country.