SINCE INVISIBLE CHILDREN’S Kony 2012 awareness video went viral last week, the Internet has been awash with discussion of the plight of Ugandans at the hands of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Knowledgeable reporters, celebrated columnists, concerned world citizens, and would-be activists have been weighing in with their own praise and criticism of the video and the group that produced it. Over one week later, the film has largely accomplished its goal. The world is quickly becoming aware of the destruction, murder, and abuse committed by the LRA, and is just as swiftly becoming impassioned about a cause that, until recently, many of us were content to ignore. So now what? Awareness is important—that can’t …
Editorial
IT’S STORYTIME. A few weeks ago, Canadian economist Don Drummond released his much-anticipated report, outlining a series of recommendations for the Ontario government to avoid hitting a projected deficit of $30.2 billion by 2017–18. Among the list of cost-cutting initiatives, Drummond recommended post-secondary education (PSE) funding be contained to an increase of 1.5 per cent …
ALMOST TWO WEEKS ago, the Conservative government made an unusual decision to refer to a committee for amendments before a bill was read a second time by the House of Commons. Vic Toews, Canada’s public safety minister, unveiled the Conservative government’s Bill C-30 last month, otherwise known as The Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act. …
EVERY YEAR, THE Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) Elections Office releases a report outlining their activities throughout the SFUO election period. The report reviews logistics, results, appeals, and mentions any issues that came up during the elections, with some final comments how the elections ran in general. While self-reflection is an integral …
THEY’RE TWO WORDS that ignite an opinion from the name alone. Combined, these two words have also been accused of stirring up a gender war. “Masculine studies” is the offending words, which are creating a stir in present-day academia. The relatively new, popular subject is now cropping up all over Canadian campuses. While the topic …
IT’S ELECTION TIME at the University of Ottawa. Brace yourself for the onslaught of poster campaigns and classroom presentations where Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) candidates plunge into brief yet vague explanations of their visions for 2012–13. What’s the importance of student politics, anyways? It’s just a bunch of political science kids practising for their totally obtainable future careers as the next Stephen Harpers and Bob Raes of the world, with the slight chance of Nycole Turmel. What’s funny is most students don’t even know who the aforementioned politicians are, so …
Barriers to post-secondary education are more than financial ACCESS TO POST-SECONDARY education (PSE) is important. A majority of Canadians believe a college or university degree is necessary to get a good job, and given the reality of our knowledge-based economy, that perception is correct. The future—and success—of our economy depends on a highly educated workforce, …
WE’VE BEEN PRETTY damn good at the Fulcrum this year. Between logging hours over our Macs to put the paper out each week, going to classes and getting good grades (or attempting to, anyways), and—sometimes—trying to catch some sleep, our editorial board has been too busy to even think nasty thoughts (Di Daniels notwithstanding). So, …
Amalia Savva | President Strengths: Savva has made herself visible to the University of Ottawa community, frequently making the effort to engage with students and bridge the gap between the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) and both the U of O administration and students. The student survey launched earlier this month and …
The closure or continuation of debate in the House matters very little A 138-CHARACTER TWEET by New Democrat MP Pat Martin last week has—yet again—raised concerns over the Harper government’s eagerness to close debate in the House of Commons, with Martin deeming the forced finale of debate on Bill C-13 “a fucking disgrace.” The current session of Parliament has witnessed the capping of discussion on six …
Movember is halfway over—and from pencil-thin caterpillars to handlebar styles, moustaches of all shapes and sizes are sprouting up on faces on campus. But as we see more facial hair grow, we can’t help but wonder: Is Movember accomplishing the goals it was created to achieve? Is it rais- ing money for prostate cancer research, …
Can reforms to government-funded loan programs pull us out in time? THE CRUSHING WEIGHT of student debt.” “Student debt bankrupting a generation.” “A financially challenged generation is slipping through the cracks.” A quick glance of recent news headlines is enough to make any 17-year-old kid wary of entering the institutions of higher learning—and any current student sick to his or her stomach. Nearly two million Canadians have student loans, totalling $20 billion worth of debt in the form of federal and provincial government loans, credit cards, lines of credit, and personal loans. As if that figure wasn’t enough to raise concerns about student debt levels, the federal government’s decision to raise the $15-billion cap …
BASED ON THE outpour of responses to our executive editor’s appearance on Sun TV last week, it is obvious that students at the University of Ottawa support the protection of minority rights on campus. Considering Canada prides itself on the protection of its citizens’ cultural and civil rights, speaking up on behalf of a minority …
Last week, The Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) released its final report on the state of education in Canada. The independent, national learning organization is set to close in spring 2012 after the Harper government withdrew federal funding last year—and did they ever go out with a bang. “What is the Future of Learning …
ALMOST FOUR WEEKS ago, Americans took to the streets of New York City in protest. The Occupy Wall Street movement has seen tens of thousands of people—of all ages, races, and political stripes—participate in an ongoing demonstration in response to the political and economic conditions of the country. Th e most common complaints among the protestors have been social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence …
UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS COME in all shapes and sizes. Some athletes play varsity sports, spending most of their year travelling Ontario in hopes of making nationals; some play competitively, competing against teams from across the province without being part of an official league; and others play intramural sports, playing simply for the love of the game. …
… but we’re all over the map IT’S ELECTION TIME in Ontario, and with that the Fulcrum is prompted to provide some epic candidate coverage, a discussion of the issues closest to the hearts of students, and, of course, an editorial encouraging you to break the trend of voter apathy among Canadians aged 18–24 and vote—or so you’d expect. But when …
ON SUNDAY, THE Board of Administration (BOA) voted to dissolve the Student Arbitration Committee (SAC) and replace it with the Constitutional Committee, which will be made up of Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) executives and BOA members. Before its demise, the SAC consisted of nine students: Two in common law, two in …
Does anyone know what the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) actually does? As the editors of a campus newspaper, we like to think we’re more informed than the average student. But a conversation among our editorial board about the student organization quickly revealed a lack of consensus on what the CFS is and what our …
The U of O is the best damn university in the country When I applied to university in my Grade 12 year, the University of Ottawa didn’t make the cut. I anxiously sent off applications to the University of British Columbia, McGill, University of Toronto, Western, Queen’s—schools across the country I had deemed “the best” after my research, which was heavily based on the annual university …
It’s change we don’t like On July 10, the city of Ottawa opened the Laurier Avenue bike lane, the first of its kind in Ontario. Unlike other designated bike lanes in the city, the Laurier bike lanes are physically separated from motor vehicles by barriers such as curbs, plastic poles, and parked cars. The $1.3-million …
