A fracas over on-campus polling stations has the electoral riding of Trinity-Spadina and the University of Toronto campus abuzz with allegations of interference and bias.
On Saturday night, U of T’s student government, the Student Administrative Council (SAC), got a call from the returning officer for the downtown riding of Trinity-Spadina saying that the special on-campus polling locations that were to open the following day had been cancelled.

On Jan. 1, the University of Michigan (U-M) stopped selling Coke products on its campus after refusing to renew the university’s contract with the global beverage company.
U-M had requested that Coca-Cola undergo an independent third-party investigation into the issues surrounding fair labour practices and safe working environments in Colombia and sustainable environmental practices in India.

Mark Sholdice, ArtSci ’07, found the Liberal party in an unexpected position Tuesday afternoon.
“I have to say this is the first time I have been on the far right, in my whole life,” he joked, referring to his party’s seat at the far-right side of the table during a student debate involving campus political clubs. The debate, which was hosted by the Government Issues Committee of the AMS and included all the political clubs on campus, took place at the Common Ground.

Students showed they have more than just classes on their minds by turning out in spades at Monday’s AMS town hall forum with Principal Karen Hitchcock.
Spectators were forced to watch from the balcony as hundreds squeezed into the lower ceilidh of the JDUC to express their concerns about tuition, accessibility and deregulation.
Hitchcock said she wanted the event to focus solely on student finances, an area overlooked at town hall meetings held last semester.

According to Kingston Police Force Insp. Brian Cookman, the 30 Tasers ordered by the police for use during next year’s Homecoming will not be used for crowd control.
Cookman made the statement at the Jan. 5 meeting of the Committee for the Safe and Legal Use of Public and Private Space, formerly called the Committee to Restore Order. “[The Taser] is not a riot-control or a crowd-control tool,” Cookman told the Journal.

Like many young people across the country, Joshua Kertzer, ArtSci ’06, is unhappy with politics in Canada. Unlike most, however, the 21-year-old political studies student has taken his dissatisfaction in an unexpected direction.
Kertzer, a Calgary native in his final year at Queen’s, has teamed up with fellow Calgarian and University of Toronto law student Erin Runnals in a second attempt to prevent the re-election of Conservative MP Rob Anders in the riding of Calgary West.

When Geoff Olynyk, Sci ’07, heard his home phone ring during dinner on Jan. 11, he was not expecting the voice at the end of the line. It was CTV News President Robert Hurst, hoping to speak with Olynyk about letters he had written regarding the exclusion of the Green party from the nationally televised federal election debates.

3,000 sheets of paper. 1,200 coffee cups. 300 plastic shot glasses.
These are some of the products consumed by AMS services over the course of an average day.
The number of products used, as estimated by service staff members and managers, are part of the reason why Jennifer Holub, AMS social issues commissioner, and John Manning, chair of the SIC Earth Centre Committee, say they have put forth a motion to create the position of AMS environmental sustainability coordinator.

In light of the Kingston Police Force’s plan to employ Tasers as a “use of force option” if another Aberdeen Street party occurs, the Journal presents part one of a two-part series investigating the impact of Tasers. Earlier this month, Anna Mehler Paperny sat down with Dianna Andreichikov, whose son died of cardiac arrest after being Tasered by police. This is the first time Andreichikov has agreed to be interviewed about her son’s death.

Student centre officer Andy Singh is the fourth member of the AMS senior staff to resign his or her post this year.
Singh, who submitted his letter of resignation last week, said he is resigning because of personal circumstances.

Over the past six weeks of campaign chaos, the faces of the Canadian federal party leaders have been inescapable. Many of the parties’ key strategists, however, shade themselves from the limelight, all the while wholly involved in the political process. Among those behind the scenes is Tim Murphy, a man whose name and face may be unfamiliar to most. But as Prime Minister Paul Martin’s chief of staff, his invisible hands are among the most influential in shaping Liberal policy.

Students will have an additional, unexpected vote to cast during the upcoming AMS executive elections: a successor for Rector Grant Bishop, who has chosen to leave his post early. Bishop, who was elected by a majority vote in November 2004, sent an e-mail to Principal Karen Hitchcock and Chancellor Charles Baillie Jan. 2 informing them of his decision to “relinquish the rectorship” once a successor is elected in February.

Underage students hoping to socialize in campus bars will have to find a new hangout after the All Ages Access (AAA) program was suspended indefinitely on Dec. 7.
Bruce Griffiths, director of residence and hospitality services, who suspended the program, said the rising number of violations were beginning to jeopardize the University’s liquor license.

On Dec. 1, AMS President Ethan Rabidoux, AMS VP (University Affairs) Shiva Mayer, Vice-Principal (Advancement) George Hood and Dean of Student Affairs Janice Deakin signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the Queen’s Centre, the new student life centre set to break ground this May. The contract is an agreement by undergraduate students, represented by the AMS, to contribute $25.5 million towards the construction of the Queen’s Centre.

A young man was apprehended on campus in the early hours on Thursday after Campus Security was notified of a suspicious character in Mackintosh-Corry Hall.
The accused is charged with break and enter, possession of stolen property and possession of break-in tools, said Const. Neil Finn, Kingston Police spokesperson.

Responding to affidavits alleging unethical conduct by Principal Karen Hitchcock while she was president of a New York state university, the Queen’s Board of Trustees has hired a high-profile lawyer to ensure an inquiry is conducted on the matter.
The allegations first surfaced last February in an article by the New York Times. The newspaper reported that Hitchcock had allegedly offered to steer an Albany campus construction project to a developer, who in exchange would endow an academic position for her.

Anyone who thinks young Canadians are apathetic about politics should have seen the hundreds of students who crowded into Wallace Hall on Tuesday evening for the Kingston and the Islands all-candidates debate.
The 150 seats were full by 5:10 p.m. for the 5:30 debate, with dozens more students and Kingston residents standing to watch the six candidates for the Kingston and the Islands federal riding.