Four University of Toronto students who dressed up in blackface—and one student who wore white face paint—for a Halloween party were asked to apologize after photos of their prize-winning costumes surfaced, the reported on Nov. 16.
The students, four white males and one Trinidadian male, dressed as the characters the Jamaican bobsled team and their white coach from the movie .
They won a costume contest organized by the student councils of St. Michael’s, Victoria and University colleges for a party on Oct. 29.
The University of Toronto’s Black Students Association organized a town hall on Nov. 10 to discuss the issue of blackface. More than 250 people attended and the students who wore the costumes apologized.
<—Gloria Er-Chua>
McMaster University is offering free tuition for four years, and a residence and meal plan in the first year, to children of Canadian soldiers who died in action, reported on Nov. 12.
McMaster joins six other universities that have adopted Project Hero, a scholarship project to offer free tuition to war veterans’ children.
The program is also available at the University of Ottawa, the University of Calgary, Concordia University, the University of Windsor, Memorial University and Carleton University.
McMaster President Peter George said the university is proud to be a part of Project Hero.
“War takes a terrible toll on families … and we feel a responsibility to both honour the sacrifice and to do our small part in helping a soldier’s family by offering access to a McMaster education,” he said.
The program, which will run until August 2014, is open to people under the age of 26.
<—Gloria Er-Chua>
On Nov. 16 London Transit Commission workers went on strike at 12:01 a.m. The 450 employees are asking for more benefits and increased wages. The strike has left student of the University of Western Ontario in a bind.
Unlike Queen’s, Western doesn’t have a confined student ghetto close to campus where a majority of students live. Many students live up to 45 minutes away by foot and rely on busses to get to and from classes.
The university is offering a shuttle bus service. They currently have seven busses covering five routes. They have also rented 47 vans to pick up and drop off staff and students who live farther than 30 minutes from campus. Vans are driven by volunteers.
Negotiations are currently at a stand-still.
<—Rachel Kuper>
Students from McGill University travelled to Middlebury College in Vermont on Oct. 25 to compete in the third annual Quidditch World Cup.
It was the second year competing McGill, the only Canadian team in attendance, competed.
Organized muggle Quidditch came into being five years ago when a team was created at Middlebury College. The game has been described as a mix between dodgeball, rugby and basketball with costumes and broomsticks. The basic rules of the game have been adapted from wizard Quidditch of the Harry Potter series.
Like wizarding Quidditich, the three chasers, two beaters, keeper and seeker must stay on their broomsticks.
Unlike wizarding Quidditich, the snitch is a human dressed in gold who runs or bikes around campus. To be caught a pair of socks must be retrieved from his pants. Bludgers are deflated dodgeballs which are whipped at other players. Once hit players must drop the ball they are holding and run back to their goalpost.
<—Holly Tousignant >
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