On Campus

What students are talking about today (November 6th edition)

Obama’s odds, no-money-down tuition, Halo 4 & a drug bust

The student pick is Obama (feelsgoodlost/Flickr)

1. It’s election day in America and things are looking good for President Barack Obama. Statistician Nate Silver, one of the most trusted seers of election results in America, Tweeted Monday that the latest polling suggests a very close election, but that Obama has a 91 per cent chance of winning the electoral college, which would give him another four years in office.

2. If it were up to student newspaper editors, Obama would win. The Daily Campus at Southern Methodist University is the only high-profile student paper to give Romney its endorsement.

3. More details are out from Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Glen Murray on his no-money-down post-secondary plan. Here it is. In partnership with private lenders, university students would be allowed to borrow up to $7,000 per year, roughly the cost of tuition and fees. Repayment and interest would start after graduation based on income. Loans would be interest free in the first 12 months after grad. The Canadian Federation of Students is opposed, naturally, saying it would “saddle youth with a lifetime of debt.”

4. Speaking of debt, about 30 students from Dalhousie University and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design participated in a Zombie Walk Monday to raise awareness of the issue. One of the undead carried a sign that said “NDP needs some brains.” You know that the anti-tuition movement is in trouble when students are pleading with a New Democrat government to pay less.

5. A female pedestrian was hit by a taxi at Queen’s University on Monday and suffered “relatively minor” injuries, say police. The taxi driver told the Queen’s Journal that the victim was looking down when she stepped onto the street and may have been texting or reading. Look both ways, kids.

6. Gamers are giving good reviews to the fourth installment of Halo. “Expecting too much from Halo 4 seemed unwise, so it’s a pleasant surprise to play something rather magnificent that will make franchise devotees sigh with relief,” writes The Guardian’s Will Freeman. “It doesn’t quite rival the glorious achievement of the series’ debut, but there is huge enjoyment for fans here.”

7. A 19-year-old student at Memorial University’s Grenfell campus in Corner Brook, Nfld. was charged Monday with possession of 950 grams of marijuana. That’s 33 ounces (read: a lot).

8. Gay and lesbian members of the B.C. RCMP have released an “It Gets Better” video in which they talk about their experiences growing up gay. More than 50,000 copycat videos have been released since sex columnist Dan Savage created the first such anti-bullying video in 2010.

9. A National Student Food Charter that calls for healthy food choices on campuses and the promotion of regional agriculture is currently under review at many schools, including the University of Alberta. Read more about the struggle to offer healthy but affordable food on campuses here.

10. Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay opened his resignation speech Monday with the words, “My father told me politics was dirty and it would destroy me.” He’s basically pleading naivety to the corruption the Charbonneau commission has brought to light. Paul Wells explores that possibility.

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