The university should take a tip or two from the student developers of an easier class enrollment tool, uschedule.
Opinions
Not all students start on an equal playing field even with the option of universal, pass or fail grading. For many students, especially international students, online learning has brought challenges that other students don’t have to face.
Dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble, Match, or Grindr offer a way to meet other singles online and fill your need for human connection, while simultaneously helping prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“With over 90 per cent of North Americans admitting that they have gone to work while sick, the importance of wearing masks to prevent transmission and illness is a lesson learnt; to remember once the COVID-19 crisis is over. We should not have to wait for another global pandemic to remind us of lessons learned.” writes Rhyanna Melanson, a 2020 U of O graduate in biology.
It is no revelation that this school year has been difficult for all due to COVID-19. The pandemic for most, if not all, has brought on deeply entrenched senses of stress, anxiety and loneliness.
After graduating high school, it doesn’t take long to realize that there wad a hefty list of things we didn’t cover throughout four years of classes. Taxes, paying off loans, and voting only scratch the surface.
In past years, reading week has been the mental reset I’ve needed in order to tackle the second half of the semester to the best of my ability. This semester, I don’t even feel like reading week happened.
“Your athletes and your community do not want your emails or your social media posts, they want you to take accountability for your actions (or lack thereof), and implement sustainable change in the form of policies and action. Your words without action are and will continue to be empty,” write a collective of members from the University of Ottawa women’s rugby team.
COVID-19 has meant that millions of Americans have cast mail-in and absentee ballots (despite the political rhetoric, these are the same thing). Unfortunately, because many states do not start counting absentee ballots until election night and because their infrastructure isn’t designed to handle such a huge quantity, it could be days or weeks before we have a final vote tally from every state,” writes Fulcrum contributor Christopher Bishop.
In light of the recent controversy surrounding the use of the ‘N-word’ by a professor in a lecture. Babacar Faye, the University of Ottawa Students’ Union president, has written a letter to the editor of the Fulcrum where he calls on the University of Ottawa to take action and take the necessary steps to rid the campus of racism and make it inclusive for everyone.
“After re-familiarizing myself with different types of water, I’ve come to a conclusion; Aquafina and Dasani water need to go out of business,” writes Siena Domaradzki-Kim, the Fulcrum’s associate features editor.
“Academic freedom, which protects professors and researchers from sanctions when they dissent from prevailing opinions, has been seriously undermined by the authoritarian left. This was confirmed recently in a controversy concerning a University of Ottawa professor who spoke the ‘N-word’ in class,” writes Stuart Chambers, a professor at the school of sociology and anthropology at the University of Ottawa.
“What is happening at the University of Ottawa is not about white folk’s right to access reclaimed verbiage by communities outside of their own, nor about academic freedom, as we have been so led to believe. What we are collectively bearing witness to is about power; namely who can access it, and who must succumb to it,” writes Shadé Edwards, a second-year common law student at the University of Ottawa.
It’s been more than a week now since the University of Ottawa’s support staff (PSUO-SSUO) went on strike following the breakdown of mediated talks with the University of Ottawa on Oct.15. The Fulcrum believes it’s time for the University to get back to the bargaining table and strike a fair deal with PSUO-SSUO members that does not involve significant cuts to members healthcare coverage.
Some of us bake bread, or learn to paint, and others take-up running. And some of us (like me) plan international trips so that I can hop on an airplane as soon as the pandemic is over. The things you can learn about solo travellers in films can also apply to life in isolation.
“To the young people who have found such glee in attacking their professors; your self-righteous instrumentalization of identity politics, it must be said, is hyperbolic and misdirected,” writes Ryan Lux a doctoral candidate at the U of O’s school of sociological and anthropological studies.
“The disciplining of professors based on ‘micro-aggressions,’ however, sets an unfortunate precedent and represents a slippery slope. No conscientious professor would willingly hurt their students’ feelings,” writes Thomas Boogaart, a professor of contemporary global history at the University of Ottawa since 2004 and a member of the APTPUO’s Board of Directors.
“As student representatives to the Board of Governors of the University of Ottawa, we want to express our disappointment with the response of the University and many members of our community to the recent racist events occurring on campus,” write Jamie Ghossein & Saada Hussen the undergraduate student representatives on the University of Ottawa’s Board of Governors.
Without a bubble system, and without consistently enforcing their own COVID-19 protocols, there have been plenty of positive cases throughout the NFL. Does the league really care about their player and personnel safety?
Due to COVID-19 related cancellations no varsity athlete will step on the field, court or ice for most of the 2020-21 season. So why are they allowed to train? Why are they the exception?
Online classes have been hard for students and staff alike, but the lack of effort from professors makes remote learning incredibly difficult for students.
“How do we make progress from here at the University of Ottawa? If by terming it as a good crisis, Jacques Frémont is going to make transformational changes in the U of O landscape, I am all behind him, but if it is going to be talk, PR, and no action, then his legacy will be harshly judged by all generations,” writes Rony Fosting an international student at the University of Ottawa.
“How are you protecting me—how are you protecting us? I implore all of you to interrogate your activism: who have you been leaving behind? Who have you failed to hold space for? In your silence and complacency, whose lives have you decided no longer matter?,” writes Shadé Edwards a second-year law student at the University of Ottawa in the common law section.
Editorial: The Fulcrum has a clear message to all non-Black U of O professors and students who use the n-word while teaching or plan to use it in the future — don’t.
While Gymshark has become a popular brand for many, their athletic clothing belongs in the gym – as the name suggests – rather than as casual wear.
