When I was a little kid, one of my greatest joys was going to the recycling depot with my dad. I know that this may not be normal—I was also really into Lego and Barbies and climbing trees—but I just thought it was so cool that our old bottles and boxes and cans could be recycled into something else.

Comprised of seven member university coalitions, the Ontario University Student Alliance (OUSA) is a collective body that actively lobbies the provincial government to provide for superior post-secondary education, whether that be by lowering tuition fees or improving the quality of teaching.

Hundreds of Queen’s students are getting vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), but the parents of many Grade 8 girls, the provincial government’s target population, aren’t so sure. The vaccine has caused a stir in recent months as provincial governments such as Ontario have announced universal immunization programs. Although its long-term effects are unknown, it’s obvious that the vaccine’s short-term effects include public outcries against its social implications. Some have protested Gardasil’s young target population, saying that’s too young to get a vaccine that protects against STDs.

TSN hockey commentator Gord Miller was thrust into a bigger limelight than usual Saturday. The Toronto Star revealed Miller sent an e-mail to National Hockey League Vice-President Bill Daly outlining the movement to oust Ted Saskin as the head of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

Earlier this week, the Globe and Mail released its annual survey of Canadian universities, giving them letter grades in a variety of categories ranging from convenience of class scheduling to library hours of operation.

This past Saturday night, I had the pleasure of spending a few hours amongst the shouting drunkards, the thrown ’bows, and the anonymous, groping fingers that make up so much of the Aberdeen crowd. Surrounded by approximately 250 Kingston, Toronto and OPP police officers, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people openly taunted the law by drinking alcohol in public or smoking weed. And yet the general feeling then, and in much of the coverage that followed, was that something was missing.

This past Canada Day a group of 20 or so young party-goers were waiting at a University of British Columbia bus stop when a police car approached the group of youths, some of whom were holding open alcohol containers. The seemingly standard interaction soon became headline-worthy as the cops posed for photos with several young women in suggestive photos recently sent to the school’s newspaper, The Ubyssey.

During the first week of school, still shopping around for courses, I tested out a mid-week, three-hour afternoon lecture. The course material seemed interesting enough, but I knew walking into the room that it would have to be nothing short of riveting and presented in an engaging way if I were going to survive that lengthy slot.

Wednesday night’s provincial election results gave Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals another majority government despite garnering only 42.2 per cent of the vote. In Kingston and the Islands, incumbent Liberal MPP John Gerretsen received 47.2 per cent of the vote to keep his seat and continue his 12-year presence in politics.

Guess what day it is tomorrow.
If you guessed “Wednesday,” let me congratulate you for knowing your days of the week.
But tomorrow is also Ontario’s provincial election—you know, where we vote for the people we want to govern this province for the next four years.
Or where we don’t vote.

In tomorrow’s provincial election and referendum, Kingstonians will cast their votes to decide which of the six Kingston and the Islands candidates will represent their constituency.

Despite my unconditional love for the Journal, there’s been many a late night when I’ve secretly cursed the grueling hours required by this job because of the hours spent away from my friends, my favourite sports and—arguably most importantly—my bed.