Charges suspended
Former Queen’s Student and Olympic athlete David Burnes’ child pornography charges have been stayed.
The ruling came after Superior Court judge Wolfram Tausendfreund found Burnes’ right to trial within a reasonable time had been infringed upon.
Burnes was charged with possessing and making available child pornography in 2009, then a second-year student at Queen’s. He was the youngest member of Canada’s Olympic archery team in 2008, when he competed in Beijing.
He was one of 30 people similarly charged, including two youths under 18, following a provincial crackdown on child pornography.
Since then, Burn was tried at Kingston’s Ontario Court of Justice from 2009 to 2010. Burnes was committed to stand trial in Superior Court in 2012, where his lawyer, Jonathan Shime, moved charter grounds for having his charges stayed.
Crown Attorney Ross Drummond is seeking to appeal Tausendfreund’s decision to have Burnes’ charges stayed.
Shime did not respond to multiple interview requests from the .
– Vincent Ben Matak
Jack Project wins award
Eric Windeler, founder of the Jack Project, has received a national prize for his work raising awareness of mental health issues.
The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) named Windeler as the recipient of the 2013 Champion of Mental Health Award. He was presented the award by CAMIMH at a gala in Ottawa on May 6th. Windeler, a Queen’s alumnus, founded the Jack Project in 2010 following the suicide of his son Jack. The project provides information about mental health to youth across Ontario, and organizes mental health outreach initiatives.
Over the last two years, members of the project have raised over $1 million and ran hundreds of workshops and presentations on mental health at high schools, colleges and universities. The project established a partnership with Queen’s in 2012, and currently uses the Queen’s campus as a base of operations. The project’s most recent initiative, Unleash the Noise, was an entirely student-run innovation summit.
CAMIMH presents the Champion of Mental Health Awards annually. Windeler received his award in the Community (Individual) category.
– Sebastian Leck
Reports of suspicious activity in Student Ghetto
Reports have been filed with Kingston Police after female students found an individual banging on their windows and peering inside their homes at night.
Queen’s Campus Security sent out an alert to students following the incidences, which are reported to have occurred more than twice, in early April. The activity took place around Birch, Earl, and Couper Streets.
Campus security reminds residents to cover their windows, keep them closed at night and utilize the blue light emergency phones when necessary. The SeQure Safety App can be downloaded on students’ phones providing instant access to campus security resources and AMS Walkhome.
Media relations office Constable Steve Koopman from the Kingston Police Force said that the Criminal Investigation Department is treating the possibility that it could be one individual, but that they haven’t had any follow ups in relation to an arrest. He also warns students of the rise of student housing break-ins during the summer months.
Koopman said students should make sure their windows and doors are locked securely throughout the summer, and to have a permanent resident in Kingston check your house regularly to avoid theft and break-ins. Timer lights may also be utilized to create the illusion that the house is not vacant.
In the past couple of weeks, the Crime Analysis department has yet to see any recurring trends in relation to break-ins in the Queen’s area but students should still be cautious.
– Abby Andrew
Search started
Queen’s search for a replacement to fill the role of University chaplain is ramping up before the current chaplain Brian Yealland retires in June.
The role of the chaplain at Queen’s involves spiritual guidance for individuals, managing a number of faith-based activities, providing support in response to tragedies and participating in official University events.
“We heard resounding support for the chaplaincy as a vital part of the university community,” said vice-provost and dean Ann Tierney in a Queen’s News Centre report. “The need for a stronger multi-faith presence on campus, in light of Queen’s increasing spiritual diversity, was among the priorities identified by the review.”
The mandate of the chaplaincy will be expanded to include the enlargement of the multi-faith chaplaincy team and dealing with increasing needs for inter-faith dialogue.
– Terence Wong
Bookstore to close
Indigo Books and Music has announced it will close its downtown location late next month.
The store, located at 259 PrincessSt., opened in 1997. It currently contains over 100,000 titles and occupies about 20,000 feet of space.
The main reason for the closure, according to Drew McGowen, the vice president of real estate for Indigo, is the 2001 merger between Chapters and Indigo.
Chapters had opened in Kingston in 1998. McGowen said that to keep both locations open provides two large bookstores for the Kingston market, which has been characterized as small. After a great deal of review, and examining the nature of the Kingston market, he said that the company decided that closing was the best option.
– Olivia Bowden
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