After researching proportional representation for a group project in a second-year politics class, Luke Field, ArtSci ’08, came to a clear decision.
For most students, a well-written paper stating that point may have been the end of the matter. But when he heard about the Citizens’ Assembly and the potential for electoral reform in Ontario, Field decided he couldn’t stay quiet on the issue.

Environmental issues have recently gained popular attention. With the proliferation of movies such as An Inconvenient Truth, being green has become more than an activist’s interest—it’s a household topic. The movement is building steam and an indicator of green consciousness is the increasing support for the Green Party of Ontario, which is now at 12 per cent support—the highest yet—according to the Toronto Star.

This winter a Queen’s alumnus and Emmy Award winner will be teaching a film class at Queen’s.
Peter Raymont, ArtSci ’71, directed Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire. Along with another film about the genocide in Rwanda, God Sleeps in Rwanda, Raymont’s film was named best documentary at the 2007 News and Documentary Emmy Awards last week.

Destinations has cancelled ticket sales for tonight’s Elephant Man concert following complaints about the dancehall musician.
Last week, AMS Social Issues Commissioner Jeff Brown received several complaints from students about sales of Elephant Man tickets.
Brown brought his concerns to Retail Services Director Alvin Tedjo, who stopped ticket sales immediately.

The University is concerned about Homecoming getting out of hand this year but doesn’t think measures such as an extensive awareness campaign are necessary, said Vice-Principal (Academic) Patrick Deane. Last year’s ad campaign featured advertisements telling students, “It’s not a car, it’s your degree that’s getting trashed,” and other similar messages.

Several alumni have threatened to withhold their annual donations to Queen’s due to Clark Hall Pub’s closure, and many more are calling the Faculty of Applied Science to complain. Rob Crabtree, former Engineering Society president and Sci ’90, said the closure isn’t going to influence his decision on whether or not to donate.
Crabtree said alumni are upset because they weren’t given details about Clark’s closure. Alumni donors were forwarded a copy of the e-mail from EngSoc to engineering students about Clark’s closure.

For one afternoon only, engineering students and alumni will be able to return to Clark Hall Pub the Friday of Homecoming weekend. The pub, including the patio, will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Homecoming Friday only.
Because the pub is still technically closed and therefore without staff, security services or use of the University’s liquor licence, the event will be catered by The Harbour, the Kingston-based company that catered Science Formal last year and will cater the event again this year.

The AMS may need to increase its annual student fee if it wants to stop running a loss, said Vice-President (Operations) John Manning.
The AMS’ funding hasn’t kept up with its growth over the past couple years, Manning said, resulting in shortfalls like this year’s projected $108,627 loss in the operating fund. This is the second year in a row that fund has posted a loss of more than $100,000.

Ask most people on campus about the upcoming referendum question and you will often get blank stares and maybe an awkward shrug.
Understandably, this may be the response of a demographic with historically lower voter turnout. But young people are not the only ones who are unaware. Other citizens, from all walks of life, don’t know the impending question, which appears to be the result of an information drought and not simply negligence.

The contents of councillor Bill Glover’s mailbox Monday morning will determine whether or not he will vote in favour of closing Aberdeen Street for the Saturday of Homecoming.
The AMS and the University applied for the street closure two months ago.
Glover, councillor for Sydenham ward, which includes the infamous stretch of the Ghetto, said he is waiting on a letter from Principal Karen Hitchcock before deciding whether or not to endorse the closure.

If city council doesn’t agree to close Aberdeen Street over Homecoming Weekend, last year’s Aberdeen Street volunteers may not be making a repeat appearance. After the Homecoming 2005 Aberdeen Street party made national news, Rebelo was fed up with the reputation Queen’s had acquired and wanted to clean up the notorious annual street party on Aberdeen.

Parties vying for first spot in the provincial election should rethink the way the Ontario government funds post-secondary institutions, said a spokesperson for the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS).
The CFS wants the government to roll back tuition fees to their 2004-05 levels and double the number of grants available to students.

The last time Ontario voters faced a referendum, the year was 1924 and the issue at hand was prohibition. On Oct. 10, 2007, the stakes are a bit higher. At polling stations across the province, voters will be handed two ballots. The first should be a familiar one: it will ask voters to choose from a selection of candidates representing different parties, whom they want to represent them at the provincial level. The second ballot will pose a question with a more lasting impact.

Women and children literally took to the streets last Thursday to show their support for Take Back the Night. The event, which runs in cities across Canada, the U.S. and Europe on the last Thursday of every September, was organized locally by the Sexual Assault Centre Kingston (SACK). Before the march, participants rallied in Confederation Basin Park, where SACK’s Public Education Coordinator Heather Lackner shared statistics about sexual and physical violence done to women and children.

The Faculty of Applied Science is encouraging faculty from the electrical and computer engineering department to leave voluntarily with financial compensation.
The program was announced at the faculty board on Sept. 19. Dean of Applied Science Kimberly Woodhouse wouldn’t comment on the program or how it will work.

After a particularly rowdy September, Insp. Brian Cookman said Kingston Police may have to look into adding additional officers to patrol the Ghetto all year.
The Kingston Whig-Standard quoted police Chief Bill Closs suggesting the Ghetto might need up to 16 officers to patrol it all day, every day of the year.

John Gerretsen, MPP for Kingston and the Islands and minister of municipal affairs and housing, said the province has given Ontario municipalities everything they need to improve the housing situation in places like the Queen’s student Ghetto.

The ink has faded in some areas, the paper looks a little uneven—especially on the edges—and it comes with the original seal, restored from its shattered state. The document that predates me by more than a century established Queen’s as a college to instruct students in “the various branches of Science Literature” in the Province of Upper Canada.

Starting in early November, long lines at Health, Counselling and Disability Services (HCDS) will no longer keep students from getting counselling.
The AMS-run Peer Support Centre will offer support and guidance in non-academic areas of student life.
The centre will be based on the second floor of the JDUC in room 214 and students will be able to drop in, call or e-mail to set up an appointment.