What students are talking about today (November 1st edition)

1. Movember, one of the most popular fundraisers on Canadian campuses, began today. Perhaps taking a cue from Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall, who challenged his fellow premier Robert Ghiz of P.E.I. to a grow-off, students at the University of Regina’s Carillon student newspaper are asking readers to bet on who can grow the best mo. $5 to vote. Proceeds fight cancer.

2. The 2013 Maclean’s University Rankings are finally here! The 132-page guide includes stories on class size, the viral videos phenomenon, expensive textbooks and, of course, the rankings. Who took home the gold may not surprise you, but the performance of schools like the University of Northern British Columbia, New Brunswick and Trent probably will.

3. A false rumour on Twitter that Justin Bieber had cancer caused a number of fans to shave their heads and tag them under #BaldforBieber. Rachel Herscovici of the Queen’s Journal disapproves.

4. More than 800 people have “liked” a Facebook page called “Save the Wesmen.” The University of Winnipeg is considering changing the name of its Wesmen athletics teams to be more inclusive.

5. Halloween often brings out drunken people who set fires and otherwise get up to no good. That was the scene in Prince Edward Island last night. Much more frightening, however, is what happened at a University of Southern California party: four people were shot, reports AP.

6. The 2012 student protests against tuition hikes in Quebec cost the Université du Québec a Montréal at least $20-million. The university’s rector is now pleading with the province for help. Good luck with that. That’s the same PQ provincial government that gave in and froze tuition, making it difficult for universities to raise much money on their own. See the Montreal Gazette.

7. Remember Pierre Poutine, the shadowy figure behind the robocalls that sent voters to the wrong polling stations in the 2011 federal election? Some believed it was Michael Sona, a 23-year-old former staffer of a Guelph Conservative MP. Yesterday, he spoke out. “I’m not going to take the fall for something I didn’t do,” he told CBC News. Read the rundown in Maclean’s Politics on TV.

8. A 25-year-old former University of British Columbia student has been charged for allegedly buying discounted transit passes from students and selling them on Craigslist. Betty Sze Yu Wong, 25, faces two counts of fraud. It’s a profitable scheme. Students at Vancouver post-secondary schools pay just $30 per month for passes that would otherwise cost $151. See more from CTV News.

9. Striking Canadian Union of Public Employees support workers at Simon Fraser University set up picket lines today. “Some operations and scheduled classes may be impacted,” says SFU.

10. Following complaints from Chinese students about bad living conditions, Concordia University will establish orientation sessions on tenants’ rights in Mandarin, Arabic and Farsi.

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