I am obsessed with America’s Next Top Model. How did this happen? My obsession started with a simple mention of the show. Outwardly, I exhibited disgust for a show that praised such narrow views of beauty. Inwardly, however, I became fascinated, secretly streaming episodes on youtube.com almost every night.

On April 10, Sukaina Mohsin Ali, a first-year student from Pakistan, died in her residence room—a death that family members have said was preventable. When a tragic incident occurs, it’s natural for those involved to shift accountability to others in an effort to cope with the situation. In Ali’s case, it would be wrong to suggest that there was a single cause for her death.

Growing up in the large and metropolitan—at least by Canadian standards—city of Calgary, I thought I was an expert when it came to the rules of urban politics. You know, when to hold the door for someone, when to say “hello” to a stranger and when to pretend to be absorbed in the fascinating world of your own arm hair, and all those other vague notions of “good citizenship” and “civility. Then I moved to Toronto for a summer of subway commutes and apartment elevator rides, and found my innocent, naïve notion of urban camaraderie stripped away.

The events that transpire at Homecoming 2006 will likely decide the fate of student-run
non-academic discipline at Queen’s.

It’s not often a student lectures a cop and gets away with it. But there I was, standing on the corner of Aberdeen and Johnson streets the night of the infamous “Queen’s homecoming riot” last September, pontificating on proper police conduct.

A week ago I thought I’d be writing two more of these signed editorials next year. Now I know this will be my last one, and I’m sad and scared and a little bit angry. But I’m also excited because I’m going to have time to live, something that’s been sorely lacking in my life lately.

It all began on Monday when Stephen Harper refused to allow the media to be present when children from the Canadian Cancer Society gave him daffodils in his office. Then on Tuesday, Harper held his first unannounced cabinet meeting.

Hi, my name is James, and I’m an e-mail-a-holic (all: “Hiiii James”). That’s right, I have a problem, and it’s not a habit I’m likely to kick any time soon.
I started thinking about this recently when replies to my grad school applications started coming in. Not surprisingly, Oxford turned me down in a polite and encouraging letter. McGill did the same, but in a few short lines, and by e-mail. E-mail!

It has recently come to light that the abuses committed by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison were not the first instances of violence against detainees in Iraq. There is now evidence of the existence of Task Force 6-26, a special unit with secret headquarters at Baghdad International Airport called Camp Nama.

With tears running down her face, the older woman shook hands and hugged the doctor standing in the open doorway leading into the waiting room. This was a tragic and true scene in which the doctor had probably participated many times. I saw this happen while leaning against the empty reception desk and, for a brief moment, I forgot where I was. I could only wonder what had just happened to the unfortunate woman.

Earlier this month, the Governor of South Dakota, Mike Rounds, signed a new law that would essentially ban all abortions in the state unless the mother’s life was is in danger. Even in cases of rape and incest, the mother’s life would have to be at serious risk before an abortion could be performed.

I hate clowns. I hate the way they look, I hate the way they dress, I hate the way they act. And I hate myself even more for saying it. But I guess if we’re being honest, the real reason I despise clowns is because they terrify me. No joke.

The first AMS Golden Cockroach was awarded to Phil Lam for being the worst Ghetto landlord based on nominations filed by current tenants. At the ceremony on Feb. 9, Lam’s student rental house on 288 Earl St. was highlighted as an example of the poor condition of Lam’s properties. Lam subsequently sent a letter in response to this award, calling it slanderous.