Mike Wheeler, chair of the Sydenham Ward Tenants and Ratepayers Association, says the student housing area is like ‘a mould.’ (Joshua Chan)
Special Project
Uneasy bedfellows
Mike Wheeler says he can appreciate the benefits of having a university in Kingston. He said the academic environment compliments the growth of industry in the city. Wheeler, a retired Alcan employee and chair of the Sydenham Ward Tenants and Ratepayers Association, said he saw the mixing of the intellectual community with the city at large on a regular basis. But Wheeler also sees some inherent problems, including the expansion of the student housing area. He said expansion of the University campus may help with space issues in the short term, especially lack of parking, but it won’t solve the lack of space.
Story
Paying the price for loans
Matt Dylag sees a bite taken out of his bank account every month when interest on his line of credit is deducted it. The third year law student is using both the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) and a student line of credit to fund his education. He said he took out a line of credit from RBC Royal Bank when he began his second year in the program.
Feature
Offering a refuge for education
In December 2003, Agot Thon boarded a flight from Nairobi Airport to London, and on to Toronto. She flew into Kingston the next morning. Two years after graduating from high school, Thon left the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya to enroll at Queen’s in the Faculty of Nursing in 2004 through the Student Refugee Program. Thon left her birthplace, Sudan, in 1986 at the age of five to live in Itang refugee camp in Ethiopia for six years. She moved to Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp in 1993.
Story
AMS services exempt from fee renewal
Under a new AMS student fee policy, AMS corporate services will no longer have to renew their fees. The policy has been in discussion for several years by AMS executives and student managers. The idea of allowing corporate services to be exempt from the triennial review came up because these services are considered essential to the entire student body, said Greg McKellar AMS information officer.
Story
Rankings don’t need school input
This week, Maclean’s magazine released their 17th annual list of university rankings in terms of overall academic success. It was the first edition of the rankings published after 22 universities dropped out of Maclean’s survey last year. Previously, the rankings relied heavily on information the universities gave the magazine.
Special Project
Queen’s as economic powerhouse
You won’t find Mike Tomlin complaining about student presence in the Ghetto. Tomlin, owner of Stooley’s Restaurant at the corner of Division and Johnson streets, said Queen’s students make up 90 per cent of his customer base, with the remaining 10 per cent made up of the University’s faculty and staff members. Tomlin said he operates the restaurant according to the academic calendar. Stooley’s closes for two weeks in December and Thanksgiving when students go home for the holidays.
Special Project
City loses taxes on University property
Despite inflation, the University’s property tax hasn’t gone up since 1987. The price per student was $50 in 1973 and rose to $75 in 1987. In total, the provincial government pays about $1.5 million per year to the city of Kingston on the University’s behalf. According to City Commissioner Gerard Hunt, if the University were required to pay taxes on all of its properties based on a market property value, amount paid to the city would rise to somewhere between $6 million and $6.5 million.
