Opinions

AFTER 10 YEARS of construction, the Large Hadron Collider was completed in 2009 by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The collider, situated on the French–Swiss border, is a 27-km-long round pipe in which two beams of energy are fired toward each other so that researchers can study what happens during and after the …

Oh, Vladimir, you turn a girl’s head A SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE political campaign has been launched by Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin and his camp. The adverts play on the concept of first-time voters as virgins, and depicts young, attractive women in doctor’s offices discussing their upcoming “first time.”  Putin, who is currently running for president …

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 …

WITH THE AMOUNT of attention the U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act have been getting, along with Canada’s kid brother Bill C-11, the question of whether the Internet can be made a private place is being debated heatedly all over North America. While there are many advocates for limiting the scope of the web, it seems Fulcrum volunteers have come to the consensus that restriction is ignorant, and ultimately ineffectual. Point: A balancing act …

DON’T HAVE ENOUGH money to buy an iPad? Need bread from the Pivik, but don’t want to spend Flex dollars? Well, the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa’s (SFUO) elections office would like to change that. All you have to do is vote! Seem a bit like bribery? That’s because it is. This year, …

WHILE THERE ARE those people who contend politics should, and more importantly can, be conducted in a civil manner (hello, poli-sci undergrads!), the fact is that the average person is completely uninterested in civility. Negative politics and attacks are the life blood of the political world. They are what keep people interested in the process. …

Spare the rod, or get it in the back of the head later A NEW STUDY was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that found individuals who experience physical punishment during their childhood are more likely to become antisocial, aggressive, and potentially physically abusive toward family, friends, and spouses later in life. The study, …

HAVING BEEN INVOLVED in event planning these past two years through my volunteering within the Health Sciences Student Association, I am surprised to see most political aspects of the upcoming election remaining unknown to your average University of Ottawa student. Having worked within the executive of a student federated body, a clearer picture of what …

AS A CURRENT vp social of one of the many hardworking federated body executives on campus, I find it laughable when candidates running for re-election run on a platform that is the exact opposite of what they achieved in their previous term. MC Noël, candidate for the position of vp social affairs of the Student …

1. Ecstacy out West is more dangerous than users think. 2. MPs in support of controversial seal hunt to wear seal skin fur as show of support. 3. Taxing sugar and highly processed foods becoming more of an international trend. 4. Massive child porn bust nabs, among others, a childcare worker. 5. Sun Media stages …

Re: “SFUO election period begins” (News, Jan. 26) ON PAGE 7 of the Jan. 26 issue of the Fulcrum, a cartoon was published that left me feeling alienated. Devin Beauregard’s political cartoon depicted Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) executive members Liz Kessler and Paige Gallette trying to get Sarah Jayne King out …

LIKE MANY STUDENTS, I delight in the occasional snide remark at my rival university. Indeed, much of the content of the “meme war” unfolding on Facebook between the University of Ottawa and Carleton University is harmless and amusing. I was, however, deeply disturbed to discover that my picture had been used as one of these …

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 …

AT THE HIGHLY-PUBLICIZED 2012 Grammy Awards, Game of Thrones actor and Hollywood’s resident little person Peter Dinklage added a cryptic message to his acceptance speech. “I want to mention a gentleman I’m thinking about in England,” he said. “His name is Martin Henderson. Google him.” Henderson, who was diagnosed with a form of dwarfism as …

I HAVE A bronze medal I keep in a banker’s box, not having found a place to put it since I moved. The words on it read, “Le concours d’art oratoire 2009.” I probably wouldn’t have it if it weren’t for my Grade 12 French teacher, Joanne Léger-Legault, who encouraged me to participate in the …

IT’S EASY TO dismiss the importance of sensitivity training. Taking a class in social interaction is little more than superfluous precaution for what is basic social common sens—or is it? A recent social mishap concerning customer-manager relations at the Boston Pizza on Hunt Club Road suggests otherwise. The manager of the pizza joint was asked to leave his position following a confrontation with the family of a boy with Down syndrome. The Boston Pizza employee rudely ordered them to either move to the back of the restaurant or vacate the place altogether. The boy, Tyler Bolduc-Cadieux, was visiting the restaurant with …

More than a mere wizard HARRY POTTER STAR Daniel Radcliffe is trying to rebrand himself—without the wand this time. Battling the expectation that his role in the HP movies would make acting outside the fantasy genre difficult for the English actor, Radcliffe has involved himself in new and less magical projects. With the release of his latest work, a …

Katherine DeClerq | Fulcrum Staff WHILE A FEW hundred students gathered on Morisset Terrace for the Canadian Federation of Students-inspired National Day of Action, I stayed indoors to work on an assignment. While people banged on drums and yelled into megaphones, I sat at a desk on the fifth floor of the library with my …

AS MIDTERMS APPROACH, more and more University of Ottawa and Carleton University students are abandoning their books. Why, you ask? To participate in an all-out Facebook meme war, which is gaining increased attention by the day. It all started with a Facebook group called “B!tch Please. I go to the University of Ottawa,” on which …

IT’S NO SECRET that we live in a fast-paced society. “Go go go!” seems to be the personal mantra of every citizen of downtown Ottawa, and local businesses have picked up on that. During the holiday shopping season, store hours city-wide were lengthened considerably. Small shops opened earlier and chain stores kept their doors unlocked until the wee hours of the morning. Bayshore Shopping Centre, one of the largest malls in the city, carried on its annual tradition of staying open until midnight for the week …

We’re really sorry RCMP ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER Craig Callens issued a public apology Jan. 27 regarding the organization’s handling of the case of serial killer Robert Pickton. The announcement was made to families of the victims, and comes mere days before officers in charge of the Pickton case make their statements to the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. …

But be legal about it CONTRARY TO POPULAR belief, there are areas in Ottawa where graffiti is not only legal but encouraged. Though few and far between, the success of these local paint walls are paving the way for a more spray-friendly city. House of Paint Carleton University, beneath Dunbar Bridge Home to the largest …

THOUGH NOT THE largest or most urban city in Canada, Ottawa is no stranger to the colourful world of graffiti art. Some adore it and others abhor it, but what but what does graffiti really say about our city? Point: All the graffiti Living in Ottawa, we see graffiti all the time, but rarely do we get an opportunity to truly enjoy it. Every week, Rick Mercer shows a different Toronto alley during …

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 …

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