Celebrating sans Christmas EVERY YEAR, ONCE December rolls around, the same signs start popping up all over town: Stockings on fireplaces, lights trimming rooftops, spruce trees in living rooms, and milk and cookies by fireplaces. What we also see, though far less often, are menorahs and kinaras in windows as non-Christian families gather to enjoy …
Opinions
False election promises get on my nerves Katherine DeClerq | Fulcrum Staff BACK IN OCTOBER, students voted in provincial elections across the country. We were faced with many parties, all of which had a post-secondary strategy—a tuition freeze, more money offered through the Ontario Student Assistance Program, or a 30 per cent decrease in tuition. …
New grades, please! Re: SFUO report card (Editorial, Dec. 1) WHILE I FIND the idea of evaluating the executive in this manner quite charming, I have to say I’m not entirely in agreement with the grades that were doled out. I question how the Fulcrum came to the conclusions they did, and what the criteria …
Occupy Xmas accomplishes very little I HAVE A confession to make: I used to be a socialist. I’m not ashamed of it. But when I finally learned about all the socialists before me, I began to wonder why—if it was ever going to work—hadn’t socialism caught on already? The recent Occupy movements are the final …
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 …
And high heels, and spray tans… FAKE NAILS, FAKE eyelashes, fake tan, five-year-old girl. One of these things is not like the other, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to discern which does not belong. Last week, a co-worker and I sat down to watch an episode of TLC’s hit show Toddlers and Tiaras. …
The sadness of one sports fan I’LL PUT THIS as simply as I can: I love sports more than any healthy person should. Growing up and being a high-school athlete, I found myself influenced by various sporting figures, whether it was teams or individual athletes. My attitude, my work ethic—even my mood— were all inspired …
Together yet significantly different Re: “Can I get a side of English, please?” (Opinions, Oct. 12) IN THE OCT. 21 edition, the Fulcrum, the University of Ottawa’s English student newspaper, published an opinion letter entitled, “Can I get a side of English, please?” The author, Jaclyn Lytle, complained that the university’s policy on bilingualism was …
The opinions expressed here are the author’s own RECENTLY AT THE Fulcrum, a debate was sparked among our editorial board about whether or not our private personalities could affect our professional personas. While some agreed that personal and professional are two different spheres, others argued that an individual was just that—one person, no matter how hard they try to split themselves …
Changing our mentality about rape and consent ON NOV. 16, the Ottawa Citizen reported on a local sex offender’s hearing, where a young man accused of rape was judged by a psychologist as fundamentally believing that only “losers” who “can’t get the girls” committed sex crimes. This man has been charged with raping a University …
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 …
Haven’t you heard? Guns kill. ON DEC. 6, 1989, Marc Lépine walked into the University of Montreal’s École polytechnique with a Ruger Mini-14 rifle, where he killed 14 women before committing suicide. On July 22, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik boarded a ferry to Utoya, Norway, killing 69 people upon arrival with the aid of his …
Canada can do better IT SEEMS LIKE every couple of years in Canada, the idea of legalizing assisted suicide rears its head. The renewed furor over this controversial issue is usually prompted by a particularly tragic case of a person wanting to end his or her life in response to extreme pain. While we can …
Would you like some philosophy with your pants? YOGA PANT PEDDLER lululemon has come under fire recently for a new slogan the company has printed on their shopping bags. The phrase, which reads “Who is John Galt?,” refers to capitalism-touting author Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged. While about half of the company’s clientele has embraced the message, the other half has indignantly …
Are the B.C. vigilantes a pro or a comic con? IT’S A BIRD, it’s a plane, it’s—a man in costume confronting a sexual predator? In recent weeks, four men in Chilliwack, B.C. have bombarded the Internet with a curious case of working-class heroism. The men, who range in age from 17 to 20, have been posing online as underage girls and luring sexual predators to locations in their area. The vigilantes then don superhero costumes and head to a meeting point, camera in hand, to confront the predators they’ve ensnared. While popular opinion seems to be the group’s approach is unique, the everyday heroes have garnered both immense praise for taking social issues into their own hands and scathing criticism for acting without proper legal authority and potentially endangering their community. World needs more vigilantes What these guys in B.C. are doing is a noble idea, but noble ideas aren’t always good ideas. The “To Troll a Predator” team seems to be in it for laughs as much as out of the goodness of their hearts, and don’t seem to …
The Kim Kardashian debacle UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN living under a rock for the past two weeks, you’ve heard about Kim Kardashian’s marriage, the 72-day affair that cost $10 million—and grossed the Kardashian family $17 million. This, coupled with Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard divorcing after two short years, makes this a month that begs the …
Let the man sing! I’VE NEVER BEEN a huge fan of OC Transpo’s management, but when their decision to silence Yves Roy—the Singing Bus Driver—hit the press, it really struck a chord with me. Roy, who is a full-time OC bus driver, was ordered to cease his long-time prac- tice of singing loudly at …
Scary suburbs IN THE EARLY hours of this past Sunday, another young man was shot to death on a quiet street in Ottawa’s west-end suburb of Barrhaven. The death, which marks the area’s third murder, has visibly shaken res- idents of the community and surrounding areas. While this is only Ottawa’s 10th ho- micide case …
PTs ain’t all they’re cracked up to be Re: “Personal training at the U of O” (Sports, Nov. 10) AS A SELF-PROCLAIMED gym rat who frequents both the Montpetit and Sports Complex gyms, I feel I owe it to my fellow students to respond to this article. Despite the personal trainer (PT) mentioned in the …
Two students sound off on the facial hair-focused campaign It’s time for men to throw out their razors and women to start constructing felt ‘staches. That’s right—it’s Movember again, which means moustaches for all! Currently in its fourth year as a formal Canadian charity campaign, Movember has thousands of men across the country growing their …
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, …
Pro-lifers should be targeting debaters LAST WEDNESDAY, I was on my way to class when I noticed an eye-catching poster on one of our school’s many bulletin boards. Under the title “Abortion Debate,” it layed out the time, date, and other details of an event to be hosted by the University of Ottawa Students for …
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 …
Click ‘yes’ if you are 16 or older AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD BOY has gained significant online notoriety lately for his antics on the fast-chat website Chatroulette.com. The child, whose name and location remain unknown, has garnered laughs for his racist, sexist, and swear-ridden comments to his unsuspecting chat partners. Many Chatroulette.com users and anonymous online commentators have responded with shock, wondering how a …
One part of Canada is too easily dismissed I WAS BORN and raised in Yukon. Growing up, I learned about all the different provinces and territories of Canada, as did anyone else with a Canadian elementary school education. I knew the territories’ population represented less than one per cent of our country and that we were a demographic minority. Still, I figured …
