Often overshadowed by other charitable initiatives, organ donation is a particularly worthwhile cause and an act that doesn’t receive as much recognition as it warrants. The recent university-wide Queen’s Gives the Gift of 8 campaign which encourages students to become listed as organ donors, helped raise awareness and spark conversation on the important issue of organ donation.

Panel discusses Canada’s choices in the long-standing drug debate, promoting the status quo, legalizing only marijuana and legalizing all drugs.

Next Wednesday, on Nov. 21, the reputation of Queen’s will be tarnished. The odd thing is that this will occur by granting a prestigious honorary degree to Jimmy Carter at Fall Convocation.

On Nov. 22 the ‘benchers,’ as the Law Society of Upper Canada’s governing board is known, will be voting on the fate of articling in Ontario. Currently articlingis in practice with multiple countries in the Commonwealth and consists of a professional training program at a firm completed after passing the bar and before becoming a qualified lawyer.

Social issues, economics and foreign policy would all be affected in some way if Mitt Romney wins the 2012 US presidential election. Our panelists break it down.

The AMS recently re-opened discussion on the ban of its members being part of fraternities and sororities at Queen’s. With a dialogue beginning to open, I look forward to educating people about the niche our fraternity satisfies
in Kingston.

On Oct. 5, the Journal published a story announcing that Queen’s would renew their contract with Coca-Cola to provide Coke products exclusively on campus. For some, this renewal has been nothing but a passing thought while for others it’s contentious.

In September of 2011, Principal Daniel Woolf established the Principal’s Commission on Mental Health and tasked it to create a discussion paper of recommendations addressing mental health issues at Queen’s. The Commission should be commended for its approach to mental health but it lacks actionable items regarding social identity and exclusion.

Following Dalton McGuinty’s resignation from provincial politics, our panelists examine the post-secondary educational legacy he left behind.

On Oct. 9, the first female Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, made an impassioned speech within the Australian House of Representatives regarding comments made by opposition leader Tony Abbott.

In the early 2000s the Government of Ontario announced the elimination of Grade 13 in Ontarian high schools. The announcement held significant implications for post-secondary institutions in the province — both the Grade 13 and Grade 12 classes were graduating in the same year.
Queen’s was among those expected to increase their admittance for the double cohort, amounting to 3,000 new students over four years.
A recent Board of Trustee’s decision places Queen’s in a similar situation today.

Desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures, but they don’t always result in good choices.
A case in point is Queen’s recent decision to partner with a private tourist education company to offer university credits overseas. Little more than an expensive form of edu-tourism, these Queen’s-Blyth Worldwide (QBW) courses infringe on academic integrity, reinforce colonial stereotypes and privatize post-secondary education.