September 28, 2007
Vol. 135, Issue 10

Stroke of generosity

Alfred Bader, right, stands with Agnes Etherington Art Centre curator David DeWitt and Rembrandt’s Head of a Man in a Turban, in Profile. The painting is the second Rembrandt the Baders have donated to Queen’s. (Harrison Smith)

A new way to vote

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.

Education bang for your buck

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 heads up on head injuries

Men’s soccer defender Michael Zanetti knows what it’s like to have a concussion. Zanetti suffered his third two weekends ago on the Gaels’ road trip to face the Nipissing Lakers and the Laurentian Voyageurs. Concussions, once rarely talked about, are becoming the focus of more research, debate and discussion. Dave Ross, the co-ordinator of athletic therapy services, said concussions occur quite frequently in Queen’s athletics.

Volunteers may steer clear of Aberdeen

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.

Closure rests on city council debate

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.

Referendum ads ‘a hip way of telling the public nothing’

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.

AMS budgets for another loss in operating fund

Voice your thoughts

Send your letters to the editors to journal_letters@ams.queensu.ca

Counselling your classmates

Last spring AMS candidate team CMM campaigned across campus touting the possibility of initiating a peer counselling service. The proposal is panning out: the Peer Support Centre will open its doors in the JDUC in November, with eight to 10 volunteers providing non-academic counselling to students.

The East-West gap widens

Lars Vilks, the cartoonist behind last month’s so-called “Swedish cartoon scandal,” was recently quoted by BBC News as saying that he’s “not against Islam. Everyone knows that.” Vilks’ cartoon, which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s head on a dog’s body, provoked worldwide controversy when it was printed in the Swedish Örebro-region paper Nerike Allehanda.

Polaris takes Watson closer to paradise

On Monday night at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto’s east end, grand jury members for the Polaris Prize chose an unlikely candidate for the second year in a row. The award, which goes to the best Canadian album of the year, is based solely on artistic merit and comes with a $20,000 cheque.

Homeless hockey still has hope

It’s shaping up to be an interesting year for the Queen’s ice hockey teams, who are looking forward to the first of several seasons without home ice.

Canines on campus

Paris Hilton may have popularized dogs with her chihuahua, but is living in a designer bag really a good life for a dog?

Issue in photos

View all images from vol. 135, issue 10.