Students are finally beginning to see some results of the summer’s renovations on the Macdonald Campus Library. Only the upper level of the library, which houses the print journal collection, the photocopiers and some computers, was made available to students after being closed since May 1.
News
News, off and on campus.
CAMPUS: Library service desk in jeopardy
A proposed reorganization of the Blackader-Lauterman Library of Architecture and Art is in the works and may end up closing the service desk permanently. Janine Schmidt, the Trenholme Director of Libraries, issued a document in May 2006 to McGill librarians that presented a plan to “close the service point of the library and leave the collection part unattended,” according to Marilyn Berger, the head librarian at Blackader-Lauterman.
CAMPUS: SSMU delays handbooks
A recent controversy over the content of the SSMU handbook has resulted in a three week delay in its realease due to the firing of the two original editors. Genevieve Friesen and Sara Kipp-Ferguson, the original editors for the handbook, were let go in August when the finished product was deemed unacceptable by Students’ Society executives, said Vice-President University Affairs Finn Upham.
@MAC: Hema-Quebec not afraid to head west
Although Héma-Québec is not returning to the downtown campus until at least next semester, the blood agency did not hesitate to hold a blood drive at Macdonald campus last Tuesday. The event was fairly quiet as no protesting groups were present, allowing Héma-Québec to reach its target of 70 donors with ease.
CAMPUS: Mercury takes over
The course evaluation process will move one step closer to transparency and accessibility this fall. After first being explored in the fall of 2003 and pilot tested in the winter of 2004, McGill Online Evaluations will be launched campus-wide in December under the name “Mercury.
CAMPUS: Ants in tenants’ pants
Ant poison was applied to Greenbriar apartments last Wednesday after three weeks of ant infestations. The Student Housing Office decided to apply ant poison to every room of the residence, one of two apartment-style dormitories McGill University offers students.
CITY: Conference hopes to bring religions together
Five years after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, a McGill professor is hoping that he can help the religions of the world address and challenge the negative perceptions that have sprung up following the fall of the World Trade Center. This week, Montreal’s Palais de Congrès will play host to World Religions after September 11: A Global Conference.
CAMPUS: New campus service for safer drug use
The Students’ Society has developed a new service to provide resources for drug and alcohol education as well as activism on drug policy. SSMU’s Harm Reduction Centre aims primarily at ensuring the safe use of drugs and alcohol among McGill students, said Floh Hera-Vega, vice president clubs and services.
CAMPUS: Web site offers alternative to traditional text
Going back to school may be becoming less painful on your wallet with the introduction of free online books. Freeload Press Company is offering online versions of textbooks, workbooks and study guides in the popular PDF format at no cost. The catch? The pages also contain advertisements, making textbooks appear more like magazines and causing controversy within the academic world.
CAMPUS: Wireless worries
As early as the nineties, McGill was at the forefront of developing a wireless network. Today that network provides over 2,500 wireless access points, each covering 250 square feet, and the university is in the process of upgrading its coverage and launching a three-year project to better integrate users around the campus.