Two fire-alarm evacuations in the past week have raised concerns about fire safety as Queen’s campus undergoes construction.
On Sunday night, an unattended pan of grease started a fire in the in the JDUC International Centre. Earlier in the week, Stauffer Library was evacuated after smoke was discovered near the basement. This summer, a faulty desk fan caused a fire in the AMS General Manager Claude Sherren’s office, costing an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 in damage.

Tucked away a few blocks north of Princess Street is a small patch of grass, a picnic table and playground. Officially called Friendship Park, the park was known colloquially for years as “Needle Park,” because its out-of-the-way location made it a haven for drug-users. Now, it’s known around the neighbourhood as “Bike Park.”

The Canadian Studies program’s future is uncertain due to a proposed 39 per cent cut to the department’s 2008-09 budget.
Caroline Caron, program co-ordinator for Canadian studies, said the cuts would hinder the program’s expansion plans. The department operates on an average $35,000 budget each year. The proposed budget cuts would move the budget down to $21,000 for next year.
Although the cuts haven’t been finalized, Caron said the department is operating on the basis they will occur.
Caron said the department was planning to add new compulsory courses by the 2009-10 academic year, but no longer has the budget for it.

For volunteers at the Earth Centre, green isn’t the new black.
They see such ideas, as espoused by the green movement, as treating sustainable living like just another consumer trend.
“This is the difficulty of ‘green consumerism’—you’re still consuming,” said Raili Lakanen, co-chair (human resources) and ArtSci ’09.
She added that reducing consumption and waste is an essential part of the environmental movement.

Undergraduate students will get to choose the AMS’s affiliation in the upcoming fall referendum Nov. 6 and 7 when the mandatory fee for the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) comes up for renewal.
The AMS is currently part of the seven-member alliance, which lobbies to the province concerning issues regarding post-secondary education.

A group of Queen’s students is putting a little soul into their leftovers.
Soul Food, a group hoping to raise awareness about poverty in Kingston, will bring leftover food from Leonard Cafeteria to homeless shelters in the Kingston community every night when the dining hall closes at 8 p.m.
Last night, students from Queen’s Hillel did a trial run. The project officially begins tonight.

Homecoming 2007 may have just ended last weekend, but planning for future Homecomings has already begun. Vice-Principal (Academic) Patrick Deane said planning will start for Homecoming 2008 after Homecoming 2007 events are reviewed. “It’s a year-round process,” he said. “Those [plans] began immediately after this year’s weekend and will continue to next year.”

The Coffee & Company on the corner of Division and Johnson streets closed on Friday. On Friday evening, the café’s windows were prepared and a sign on the front door said, “Dear Customers: I would like to thank you for your business. It has been a pleasure seeing you! Please join us at our Princess St. location, 53 Princess at King.”
Coffee & Company management and staff refused to speak to the Journal.
School of Business professor Ken Wong said the Starbucks next door was probably a factor in Coffee & Company’s closure, but other coffee shops, as well as factors such as rent rates, probably contributed to the closure.
He said as a medium-sized chain, Coffee & Company is in a difficult position.

This Sunday, 22 cars will begin a 3,021-km journey across the Australian outback, from Darwin to Adelaide.
The route’s vast distance and imposing climate are only part of the challenge. Each car will complete the journey using just sunlight as fuel.
Among the competitors in this World Solar Challenge is the Queen’s Solar Vehicle Team and their car, Aurum. The four-day journey across Australia will begin on Monday after qualifying races the previous day.

As public health officials worry about too few Grade 8 girls taking advantage of the HPV vaccines, hundreds of Queen’s students are paying for the shot at Health, Counselling, and Disability Services (HCDS).
HPV is a common virus that can lead to cervical cancer in women. In Ontario, more than 500 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, and 140 people die of it annually.
In July 2006, Health Canada approved the Gardasil vaccine to protect women against HPV.

Over the Friday and Saturday of Homecoming weekend, the Kingston Police Force worked a 33-hour shift that will cost them at least $7,000 per hour.
Approximately 230 officers from the Kingston Police, the Toronto police and the Ontario Provincial Police patrolled the student Ghetto from 7 p.m. Friday evening until 4 a.m. Sunday morning.
The Kingston Police are obligated to pay a minimum $33,000 to cover the cost of overtime for the two outside police forces, but it’s up to the heads of those police forces to decide if they will ask for more.

CFRC alumni who were broadcasters as early as 1941 stopped by an open house celebrating the 85th anniversary of Canada’s longest-running radio station on Saturday to see how the station has changed over the years.
CFRC 101.9 FM Operations Officer Eric Beers said although the open house was only scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., some alumni stayed for hours longer.

Aberdeen Street is looking a little greener—and not from shattered beer bottles.
A group of enthusiastic volunteers­­­­— consisting of student, staff, alumni and community members—woke up early on Sunday morning to help beautify their neighbourhood by planting five trees along the front yards of Aberdeen Street. The project began at 11 a.m. and lasted for two hours.

It’s arguably the most talked-about university street party in Ontario. Now, the phenomenon that is the annual Aberdeen Street party will be immortalized on film.
Colin Sharp, ArtSci ’05, spent Homecoming in Kingston along with Brianne Perez, ArtSci ’05, and 10 volunteers wielding four cameras, filming footage for Aberdeen Street, a documentary film he’s directing about the party and its effect on the Queen’s and Kingston community.

For most Canadians, the word “war” evokes images of rubble-riddled cities seen on the evening news and newspaper headlines spouting political jargon and declaring death tolls.
For Dr. Samantha Nutt, who has been caught in the midst of gunfire and seen the devastating effects of war on civilians in several countries, no words can truly describe the devastation.