What students are talking about today (October 23rd edition)
1. Police at the University of British Columbia are looking into whether there is a link between a man charged with secretly recording nudity in a women’s change room at the Osborne Centre gym on campus and other complaints received both at UBC and at an institution across town, the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). Jay Forster, 42, was recently charged after women reported him in the shower area of the gym at UBC, reports The Ubyssey.
2. In Italy, six scientists and one government official have been sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter after failing to properly predict the L’Aquila earthquake in 2009, which killed 306 people. Unsurprisingly, the decision is sending chills though the scientific community.
3. Queen’s University’s Alma Mater Society may reconsider a 78-year-old ban against members joining fraternities or sororities, reports The Queen’s Journal. The issue is whether the ban is supported by students and whether it’s enforceable, considering there’s is already at least one frat.
4. Twitter is going crazy over the launch of a product rumoured to be the “iPad Mini,” which insiders say will retail for about $250. Jesse Brown points out that there already is a $250 iPad (sort of).
5. Danielle Smith, the almost-premier of Alberta, has apologized for agreeing with a Tweeter who asked whether the beef dumped by XL Foods after the E. Coli. outbreak could be cooked and fed to the poor. “We all know thorough cooking kills E. Coli. What a waste,” Smith tweeted. NDP Leader Brian Mason suggested Smith has little regard for poor Albertans. Either way, Smith may be technically right. Experts say the meat is safe so long as it’s cooked to a certain temperature.
6. While there was no clear winner in the final U.S. presidential debate, President Obama won the Twitter war with his zinger on military spending. Republican candidate Mitt Romney said he’s concerned that the U.S. Navy is spending less on ships than it did in 1920, to which Obama responded that the military no longer uses horses and bayonets either. It quickly became a meme.
7. This week’s Maclean’s cover features Amanda Todd, the 15-year-old B.C. teen who committed suicide. Columnist Emma Tietel writes: “The public consensus about Amanda Todd is that she made a mistake by exposing her breasts on the Internet. What isn’t being said, however, and what should be said, is that Todd’s mistake is an extremely common one; one I made several times at her age.”
8. Speaking of bullying, the Twitter account @uWinFashionPoli, allegedly run by University of Windsor students, has been deleted after police described it as “bullying.” It had featured photos of UW students along with comments criticizing their fashion choices, reports CBC News.
9. Bob Rae, interim leader of the federal Liberals, says he will nominate Pakistani girls’ rights advocate and teenage Taliban shooting victim Malala Yusufzai for the Nobel Peace Prize. “We need to do all possible to champion this brave advocate for equality,” he Tweeted.
10. Here we go again. About 30 people participating in an anti-tuition protest in downtown Montreal on Monday were detained by police and ticketed for blocking traffic. One was arrested.