What students are talking about today (November 28th edition)
A pro-choice club denied, Marc Garneau & safety at York U.
Patrolling campus (West Midlands Police/Flickr)
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1. More than 1,300 people have confirmed on Facebook that they will attend a protest at York University on Wednesday demanding better security. “Over the past few months there have been many cases where assaults, robbery, and mischief have been happening with our students at York,” says the Facebook page. York officials reported earlier this month that they have implemented 70 per cent of the recommendations from a recent safety audit.
2. A Kwantlen University student is threatening to sue his student association after it cited a “pro-choice policy” as the reason for denying his pro-life group status as a club. Oliver Capko told The Province he believes the ban denies him freedom of expression. However, it’s not just his group that doesn’t get funding from the Kwantlen Student Association. Political, religious or “controversial” groups like the Muslim Association are also denied club status.
3. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to ask the UN General Assembly on Thursday to recognize Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. The U.S., Israel, Canada and Germany are opposed. France, Spain and Norway are in favour. The U.K. is undecided.
4. This will make you think twice about studying abroad. A mob of masked Italian soccer fans armed with cobblestones, knives, and bats attacked several American students on exchange in Rome. Three were hospitalized. The attack may have been motivated by antisemitism. Fans of Britain’s Tottenham football club, supported by many English Jews, were taunted during a nearby game against Rome earlier that evening. Thugs may have thought the Americans were Jews. Read more here.
5. Even the governor’s disapproval didn’t stop the University of California’s Board of Regents from giving the incoming chancellor of U.C. Berkeley $50,000 more per year than his predecessor. He will be paid $486,000 annually. It’s not uncommon for university presidents, including in Canada, to receive such high pay. Still, it rubs some people the wrong way in a time of austerity.
6. The University of Alberta Students’ Union will fight gender-based violence on campus with $200,000 grant from the federal agency Status of Women Canada, reports The Gateway. They will team up with campus groups and offer speakers, workshops and a even play.
7. A posting for a fine arts faculty position at Colorado State University has angered some academics because it comes with a $15 application fee. More at Inside Higher Education.
8. The Red Hot Chili Peppers rocked Saskatoon on Saturday, impressing many students who mostly weren’t even born when the band got together 29 years ago. “It’s refreshing to find that the energy they exude on stage hasn’t aged with them,” writes Alexander Quon in The Sheaf.
9. “I understand that everybody has off days, this girl included, but if you show up to class 95 per cent of the time looking like you literally just got out of bed,” writes Emma Chapple in The Aquinian, “an intervention might be in order.” She goes on to advocate for a dress code that would help prevent fashion faux pas like pyjama pants tucked into fake Ugg boots and caps in class.
10. Marc Garneau is the latest to announce his candidacy for the federal Liberal leadership. “Whether it was in the Canadian Navy, as an astronaut or as president of the Canadian Space Agency, I have spent my life serving my country,” he said in his announcement speech. Justin Trudeau, Joyce Murray, Martha Hall Findlay and Deborah Coyne are among the many contenders.