Three sides disagree on costs and effectiveness of pass DISAGREEMENTS WERE SPARKED between the City of Ottawa, students, and citizens when Charlie Taylor, mayoral candidate in the past municipal election and recent Carleton University graduate, declared the numbers determining the new cost of the U-Pass don’t add up. Taylor presented the data he collected to the city’s transit commission on Nov. 16, intensifying the discussion between the universities’ student unions and the city. “Basically, [the city’s transit report] is a propaganda document being put forward to try to frame [the report] in a positive light,” said Taylor, who thinks the program costs more than students are paying. “Every page of the report is flawed. It is either seriously poor scholarship or deliberate misrepresentation.” According to …
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GSAÉD’s finance commissioner resigns AFTER NEARLY TWO years with the University of Ottawa’s Graduate Students’ Association (GSAÉD), Patrick Imbeau announced he will resign his post of the finance commissioner on Nov. 15. Since beginning his employment with GSAÉD in December 2009, Imbeau has worked as the association’s university affairs commissioner, external commissioner, and most recently, …
photo by Sean Done An in-depth look at the newly designated space OTTAWA’S GAY VILLAGE on Bank Street is now officially recognized. Six white signs with the words “the village” and a rainbow insignia were installed at the intersections of Bank and Nepean, Somerset, and Frank streets last week. The Bank Street Business Improvement Area …
Next Stop HOW EASY IS it to keep governments accountable? Throughout history, journalists, activists, and sometimes even politicians kept governments from power tripping by broadcasting their own mes- sages to the public. Our generation needs a voice, too. Now that Stephen Harper achieved his long sought-after majority, he’s pushed his agenda through at impressive speeds, …
Michaelle Jean wants to be a chancellor that’s there for students ON NOV. 7, the University of Ottawa announced Michaelle Jean, former Governor General of Canada, would be the university’s new chancellor. She replaces Huguette Labelle, who held the position for almost 18 years. A chancellor’s job description The University of Ottawa’s chancellor is the …
Let’s talk about consent, baby NOV. 14–18 MARKS the second annual Consent is Sexy Week hosted by the Women’s Resource Centre (WRC) at the University of Ottawa. The campaign focuses primarily on creating a dialogue around consent and sex positivity in an effort to prevent sexual violence on and around campus. “Opening up the …
St-Amour told to go through different channels AT THE BOARD of Administration (BOA) meeting on Nov. 12, Sébastien St-Amour, a fifth-year political science student at the U of O, proposed changes to the Student Federation of the Univer- sity of Ottawa (SFUO) election process. Although St-Amour was interrupted before finishing, he is determined to have …
Food bank use in Canada increases by 26 per cent since 2008 OTTAWA (CUP)—HUNGERCOUNT, AN ANNUAL study of food banks and food programs in Canada, estimates an average of 851,000 individuals were assisted by food banks each month in 2011, four per cent of whom were post-secondary students. Since 2008, food bank use in Canada …
OPH aims to educate youth about tanning ON NOV. 8, Ottawa Public Heath (OPH) launched the Enjoy the Skin You’re In social media campaign, in partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society, Cancer Care Ontario, and three local health units, that aims to raise aware- ness among youth about the risks of tanning. “We would like …
What’s he building in there? The problem THE WORLD IS in need of green energy solutions. Wind, solar, and geothermal are some of the energy-gathering meth- ods capturing researchers’ imaginations as alternative energy sources. Harnessing power from nature depends on geographic location. Solar is the best bet for Spain, while wind might be better for …
University of Manitoba president apologizes WINNIPEG (CUP)—UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA president David Barnard made history on Oct. 27 by issuing an apology for the university’s indirect role in the residential schools system before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Halifax. Barnard is the first university president to formally apologize for perpetuating the system. His emotional words …
‘Tampon tossers’ REBECCA CRIMMINS, AN aspiring Australian model, and several co-workers were picking up McDonald’s from the drive-thru when Crimmins decided to play a joke on the attendant, earning her a criminal record. After asking, “Oh, what’s this on my fries?” Crimmins took a wet tampon dipped in lime cordial mix and dabbed it on …
Pieing lupus in the face SIGMA PSI ALPHA (SPA), a sorority based in Ottawa, has set Nov. 27 as the date when students, friends, and community members can pie sisters in the face to raise money for the Lupus Foundation of Ontario (LFO). The sorority supports the LFO and brings awareness to the common disease, all because of a …
ON NOV. 4, students piled into Desmarais to listen to a panel discussion on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which included former United Nations (UN) secretary general Kofi Annan, former Canadian foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy, and Conservative parliamentarian and first Canadian ambassador of Afghanistan, Chris Alexander. Moderated by BBC foreign correspondent and Canadian native Lyse Doucet, the panel discussed this key concept in international relations. The panel, hosted by the Centre for International Policy Studies and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, honoured the 10th anniversary of the Responsibility to Protect principle, born from the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) that was established by the Canadian government in 2000. Following …
A world more crowded CAIDEN LEWIS MCCRINDLE, whom the Ottawa Citizen declared the world’s seven billionth baby, was born Oct. 31 at 8:32 a.m. at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. England, India, and the Philippines also claimed the birth of the world’s seven billionth child, based on a projection by the United Nations’ population council …
Next Stop THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT has spread across the world since September, fighting for “the 99 per cent.” But two months later, the grassroots movement strayed off course with reports of drug overdoses and hippie love fests in the tent cities. A few weeks ago, I wrote a column encouraging readers to show their support …
Mayor Jim Watson discusses the city’s 2012 budget THE CITY OF Ottawa’s draft budget, released on Oct. 26, will take on necessary infrastructure improvements, said Ottawa mayor Jim Watson. The project, titled Ottawa on the Move, provides over $340 million in funding, providing the city with better roads, sidewalks, and bike paths. The city will also see changes in OC Transpo …
Would dropping tuition fees benefit students? RECENTLY, THE STUDENT Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) erected a “Wall of Debt” to bring awareness to high tuition fees and skyrocketing student debt—issues some experts challenge in their research. The rising cost of education According to the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), students owe the federal government over $15 billion in loans, a number growing rapidly. “We’re in a situation right now in Canada where the average student, upon graduation, owes $25,000,” said CFS chair Roxanne Dubois. “It’s a huge burden to put on today’s …
Next Stop A UNIVERSITY IS a business. True, it’s an important institution of higher learning, but like any other enterprise it has to earn some dough. It’s time to face it, folks: Our tuition is not going down. One reason is our fragile and unstable economy. With stock markets crashing all over the world, it’s …
U of O launches strategic plan ON OCT. 21, University of Ottawa president Allan Rock launched Vision 2020, a set of goals the U of O hopes to achieve within the next nine years. The four main areas of focus in the document are student experience, research, internationalization, and bilingualism. At the top of the …
ASH and U of O create off-campus involvement awards THIS SEPTEMBER, THE Good Neighbours Committee, initiated by the University of Ottawa, created awards for off-campus student residents to encourage those living in Sandy Hill to be good neighbours. Granted in April, the awards for property improvement and community involvement will recognize students who have been …
Double homicide in Ottawa South OTTAWA—ON OCT 26, convicted drug trafficker Graham Thomas, 35 and Jason Chapman, 31, believed to be his driver, were shot and killed at Ottawa’s Gloucester Centre inside a tanning salon Thomas owned in the mall on Oct. 26. Thomas has been charged with drug trafficking, impaired driving, driving while disqualified, …
Health Promotion launches program to help smokers quit LEAVE THE PACK Behind is a free service offered by Health Promotion at the University of Ottawa to assist students who are trying to quit smoking. This year, Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) was added to the program because of concerns regarding high smoking rates on university campuses. …
Students raise awareness about U-Pass price increase ON OCT. 31, students at Carleton University, led by the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA), dressed up as zombies and attended a mock funeral for the loss of important transit routes while getting students to sign postcards petitioning against proposed fare hikes for the U-Pass. “Because it was …
Survival of the same The problem NATURAL SELECTION IS one of the cornerstones of modern science. Genetic mutations cause organisms to be more or less fit to survive; those who can’t compete die, while the strong pass on their genetic strengths to a new generation. Still, genomes are complicated things. Genes can react to internal …
