Students returning to Kingston next month will be able to surf the Internet for free with the creation of a new free wireless network. Ockham Communications, a Kingston-based Internet service provider, composed of a few Queen’s graduates, started installing six devices needed to create a wireless network around the Ghetto.
The network, called Mi Wifi, will cover the area bordered by University Avenue and Earl, Princess and Division Streets.

A proposed change to copyright law could change the way Canadians share media. It could also have a negative impact on the education system, said English professor Laura Murray. Bill C-61, first read to the House of Commons by Federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice on June 12, outlines the provisions for copying media and fills in the grey areas not covered by existing copyright laws.
Under current copyrighting laws, Canadians aren’t allowed to copy newspapers, books, periodicals, photographs, videocassettes and music.

From million-dollar leave payouts to memberships in local recreation clubs, many of the perks of being a university principal in Ontario are being publicly released for the first time. The Hamilton Spectator filed a series of requests under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the contracts of 17 university presidents and principals, making public the salaries, benefits and compensation packages they receive. They published the contracts in June.

Queen’s annual Frosh Week concert has found a new home at Fort Henry National Historic Site since Kingston city council attempted to silence the event. The concert, held annually in the parking lot of Miller Hall, has regularly been a source of debate between Kingston residents and Frosh Week coordinators.

If Kingston city council has its way, the class of 2012 will be without a concert this Frosh Week. At the June 17 council meeting, a motion brought forward by the AMS requesting a one-night exemption from noise bylaws, for the annual frosh concert, was voted down. AMS President Talia Radcliffe said she thought councillors were acting out of frustration because of past hostilities between the City of Kingston and the Queen’s community, particularly those stirred up by the Aberdeen Street party every Homecoming weekend.

After spending 104 days in jail on contempt charges, Robert Lovelace is a free man. On June 2 at Kingston’s Superior Court, Oakville-based mining company Frontenac Ventures Corporation withdrew all charges against the Queen’s professor. Ardoch Algonquin First Nations lawyer Christopher Reid said he wasn’t surprised.

In September, students will have a new forum to address religious issues through the formation of a Religious Issues Committee (RIC) within the Social Issues Commission.

There’s something about a castle that can capture anyone’s imagination. The towers, moats, courtyards, twisty staircases, clunky wooden doors and mysterious passages are the stuff of fairy tales. The magic and history a castle conjures haunt the backs of our minds from childhood onward— just look at the status J. K. Rowling’s Hogwarts has achieved in pop culture.

On Apr. 21 Gail Wood became Queen’s first Sustainability Manager. Wood said the position was created in order to encourage a cohesive sustainability movement across campus.

Yesterday, Tom Williams was installed as Queen’s 19th Principal during the first of the 19 spring convocation ceremonies.

Queen’s administration and student government scrambled to respond to Principal Karen Hitchcock’s e-mailed resignation yesterday.

Principal Karen Hitchcock announced her resignation in a University-wide e-mail yesterday morning.

The Journal presents its contributors of the month.