The University of Waterloo is one of the few institutions in Canada to administer a language proficiency exam as a degree requirement. Although the university has used the test since 1976, students’ writing problems just appear to be getting worse.

“What we do know is that our pass rate is declining,” said Ann Barrett, managing director of the English language proficiency exam at Waterloo. She noted that 30 per cent of students now fail the test.

The proficiency exam isn’t designed to trick or fool students. Barrett says one of their goals is to be transparent. It is a simple essay question, where evaluators are looking for proper grammar, organization, and development. They want to see if students understand a standard essay format, present their thesis, and defend it effectively.

What makes a proficiency test in writing so important is the correlation between failing the test and doing poorly in university courses.

“Students that fail our exams are at risk because they won’t understand what the instructors are saying or what is in their textbooks,” Barnett said. “If a student is struggling with the basics of language, they will have difficulty with what they are being taught and what is expected of them.”

What becomes puzzling then is how students who earn strong enough marks at the CEGEP and high school level to be accepted to university can barely form a sentence.

“It puzzles us when we see students get 90s in high school and yet can’t pass this exam,” Barrett said. “We don’t understand the disconnect and it is frustrating.”

Sue Laver, of the McGill English and French Language Centre, said McGill students also struggle with prose composition.

“I have had a handful of students who are functionally illiterate in writing,” Laver said. “It is actually shocking that such students would make it all the way to a prestigious university like McGill.”

It is unclear, however, why students’ writing abilities are declining. Some critics point to the advent of social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook. Joel Postman, author of SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate who has taught Fortune 500 companies how to use social networking, argues that students no longer distinguish between communication with friends, professors, and even potential employers.

“If you cover your legal document with emoticons, with ‘lols’ and ‘l8rs,’ a contract could be invalidated,” Postman said. “What would happen if you used smiley faces and ‘cuz’ in a medical procedure? It is simply error in judgement, and it’s jarring and offensive for many people.”

Laver, however, believes that many secondary schools do an inadequate job of preparing students for the rigors of university writing.

“The problem is that they aren’t well prepared before they get here. If it is not taught or not taught long enough, they are in for a rude awakening,” Laver said. “And that leaves us to pick up the pieces.”

Though McGill doesn’t require language proficiency exams to enter or graduate from the university, Laver believes that McGill should develop an entry assessment to combat students’ declining writing abilities. The English and French Language Center does offer a for-credit course in academic English called EAPR 250: Research Essay and Rhetoric every semester. Because resources to help students are spread out, however, it can be difficult for students to improve their writing.

“Writing issues cannot be figured out by professors that are not experts in teaching academic writing, or even in simple tutorials or workshops,” Laver said. “So I think everyone should take an academic writing course with those that are specialized in this field, without exception. They have nothing to lose.”

McGill has recognized this problem and is currently engaged in serious discussions about a potential writing center for students.

“The ball is rolling,” Laver said, “and it’s moving in the right direction.”

The Law Students’ Association Council recently voted to establish a committee that will evaluate its relationship with the Students’ Society, opening the door to the possibility that the LSA will disaffiliate from SSMU.

The motion, put forward by LSA President Alexandre Shee, requires the new five-person committee make suggestions as to how its relationship with SSMU can be improved.

Like other undergraduates, law students are currently represented by both their faculty association, the LSA, and by their representative on SSMU Council. As such, they pay fees to support their membership in SSMU.

Unlike other undergraduates, however, law students also pay fees to the Post-Graduate Students’ Society. According to Shee, the fact that law students pay two separate fees was a major reason for his decision to push for the committee.

“The decision is about who we’re paying these fees to,” Shee said. “Where is the centre of our social life? It’s not Gert’s, it’s Thompson House.”

In an interview with the Tribune, Shee levelled broader criticisms at SSMU as well. He described the organization as largely irrelevant to most law students and complained that the SSMU executives rarely visited the Faculty of Law.

“What we have right now is a SSMU that is disconnected and too centralized,” he said.

Shee also urged other faculty associations, such as the Arts Undergraduate Society, to re-examine their relationships with SSMU.

Not all law students agree with Shee, however. Max Reed, a third-year law student, described the decision to establish the committee as “a really poor idea” that most law students had not pushed for.

“This is sort of coming out of thin air,” Reed said. “There has been no discussion about this at the Law Faculty whatsoever.”

Reed, who is also a former SSMU vice-president university affairs, said he is a member of several SSMU clubs and does not want to see the LSA cut its ties to SSMU.

“I can’t think of anything that SSMU isn’t doing to represent the needs of the Law Faculty,” he said.

According to Reed, the LSA also may not legally be able to separate itself from SSMU, at least not financially. Under a provincial law titled the Act Respecting the Accreditation and Financing of Student Associations, undergraduates are required to pay fees to support their university’s accredited student association. At McGill, that association is SSMU.

“Even if the LSA were to formally disaffiliate as some sort of protest, the law – or at my reading of it – says that LSA members would still pay their fees to SSMU,” Reed said.

In addition to his larger criticisms, Shee cited SSMU’s declining contributions to funding the LSA’s clubs as another reason that he moved to establish the committee. The funding, Shee said, is less than a third of the amount the LSA received just a few years ago.

According to SSMU President Ivan Neilson, however, the fact that the LSA receives any club funding is something of an anomaly. The LSA has floated the idea of leaving SSMU before, he said, and “exhorted” the club funding as a kind of pay-off.

“The only reason that this agreement ever came into existence was because the LSA has threatened similar tactics in the past,” Neilson said.

Though the $3,000 per annum the LSA currently receives is lower than past amounts, the money saved has been redirected into the more general Campus Life Fund.

“Any club formed by law students, because they are members of SSMU, has a right to club funding, and Campus Life funding,” Neilson said.

As for Shee’s criticisms of SSMU, Neilson expressed disappointment that Shee had not worked through established channels or brought his concerns directly to the SSMU executive.

“I think we have a good model here, and I think that it’s really up to the individual student leaders to step up to the plate and make it what they want it to be,” Neilson said. “If they have criticisms, if they have changes that they want to see, it’s up to them to either bring it to Council, bring it to a General Assembly, or bring it to referendum.”

At Queen’s University, the Water Access Group, a group of students and professors interested in promoting public water and discouraging the use of bottled water, has completed a study of the school’s water fountains.

The group found that 84 of 151 fountains were broken or dirty, and only 24 had gooseneck spouts for refilling water bottles, which prompted them to write an open letter to Daniel Woolf, the university’s principal. The letter advocates repairing the fountains as well as cutting back on bottled water sales on campus. WAG’s ultimate goal is to phase out bottled-water sales on campus.

“We’re encouraging students to understand the implications of their purchase of bottled water, whether that’s from a social justice perspective or … just in terms of cost,” said Claire Nelischer, the sustainability co-ordinator for Queen’s Alma Mater Society and a member of WAG.

Should they succeed, Queen’s would become the fourth university in Canada to ban bottled water on campus, joining the University of Winnipeg, Memorial University in Newfoundland, and Brandon University in Manitoba.

Montague said that such bans are easy, effective, and ethical, and criticized commercial water distributors.

“Commodifying a basic human right and selling it for more than a gallon of gasoline, it’s ridiculous,” said Stephen Montague, president of the Brandon University Students’ Union.

Commercial water distributors, however, argue that water is chemically safest when bottled. As well, according to a press release on its website, the International Bottled Water Association has collaborated with relief agencies to provide bottled water to those affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

Nonetheless, students across Canada appear to support bottle bans. Students’ Society President Ivan Neilson said that universities could help set good examples for society.

“We can show some leadership in that area,” Neilson said. “I think it’s a great initiative.”

While SSMU has banned bottled water in the Shatner Building, the prospects for a campus-wide ban are less promising.

“[The university] is very hesitant to enter into commitments like [this],” Neilson said.

Other university administrations have been more responsive to their student unions. Montague said that negotiations with the administration at Brandon were easy after a bottled-water ban motion was approved by the Students’ Union.

“Within a month, we had the signed Water Pledge,” he said. “Our administration [was] fantastic to work with. They saw the value in the proposal and they were fantastic partners.”

Nelischer argued, however, that bottled-water bans are not always so simple.

“It’s very context-specific,” she said. “We’ve looked to the other universities to see what they’re doing as an example, but even the awareness campaigns and student movements don’t necessarily apply to the situation that we’re in here.”

The University of Winnipeg, for instance, was not in an exclusive contract with a beverage provider when it decided to ban bottled water. Queen’s, however, has an exclusive contract with Coca-Cola, making it difficult for groups like the WAG to make changes.

Queen’s contract with Coca-Cola expires in August, and the WAG hopes to either persuade the university not to renew it or to insert a clause banning bottled water in the new contract.

“It’s very time sensitive, what we’re doing right now,” Nelischer said.

Ken Sawyer, CEO of the Pittsburgh Penguins, spoke to an enthusiastic audience in the third-floor lounge of the Bronfman building last Friday as part of the Faculty of Management’s CEO Speaker Series.

Within the last decade, the Penguins have propelled themselves from bankruptcy to the Stanley Cup. Sawyer began his talk by explaining how although there are some strategies for running an NHL franchise, the essential elements are the same as any other business.

One area that Sawyer highlighted was the differences of the economic structure of an NHL franchise, including salary caps, sponsor revenues, and local TV contracts.

When Sawyer assumed his position with the team as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 1999, the Penguins were in dire financial straits. However, he then pulled his Stanley Cup ring out of his pocket, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and success.

Sawyer also recounted some interesting anecdotes for McGill students to remember after graduation, encouraging the audience to take initiative. For those hopeful of a career in hockey management, Sawyer recommended to “start elsewhere, and make your mark elsewhere.”

Sawyer pointed to the franchise’s improvements and how he was able to contribute to saving hockey in Pittsburgh as his greatest successes. On top of that, Sawyer expressed great pride in the ongoing construction of the new Consol Energy Center, the arena the Penguins will call home at the start of the 2010-2011 season.

When asked about the recent trade of Ilya Kovalchuk to division rivals New Jersey, Sawyer assured the audience that his team is still in a solid position.

“We like the team we have right now, and it’s the team we won the Cup with last year, but sure, we’ll look at major transactions,” he said. “But it won’t make us do something that will disrupt our team on a huge level.”

Sawyer also argued that education is a life-long process, and cited his formal education in math, instead of business, as a prime example.

Kerry Jones, U1 Management, was impressed with Sawyer’s lecture, particularly how he combined aspects of both business and hockey.

“Sawyer was very well-spoken and articulate. What Sawyer said today about the business aspect was very helpful and what he said about the operational and management side of hockey was very interesting,” Jones said. “It was really interesting to understand that hockey is not just a game, but there is also a business side.”

The CEO Speaker Series will bring in other corporate leaders this semester, including National Bank CEO Louis Vachon and Sir Richard Branson.

The Series aims to supply McGill students with the opportunity to learn from executives and leaders in the corporate world. The series takes a unique approach to the traditional guest lecture format, beginning each event with a casual question-and-answer session led by an MBA student. Following this interview, the floor is opened up to students in the audience.

“The idea is for the students to get a sense of a senior leader’s view of the world. What is leadership?” said Professor Karl Moore. “Also, it’s about their careers. How did you get started, how did your career unfold, and if you were 20 years old, what would you do?”

With a proposed 67 per cent funding cut for the upcoming year, McGill Athletics’ Level II teams will face some drastic changes in the near future.

Funding for McGill varsity teams is based on a three-level tiered system. The 2010-11 McGill Athletics and Recreation budget proposal, released last week, would cut Level II funding by $147,871, making the total amount $73,163, compared to $221,034 last year.

Level I teams, which include football, hockey, basketball, soccer, swimming and women’s volleyball, receive a total of over $850,000 of financial support and are set to receive an additional $15,801 in the proposed budget. The Level II teams are cross country, track, rugby, badminton, rowing and men’s volleyball. The budget for Level III teams, also known as intercollegiate clubs, which consists of all other athletic teams, is set to double next year to $60,000.

Tom Fabian, the president of the Varsity Council and a member of the volleyball team expressed concern about what these funding cuts would mean for the Level II teams.

“Take the volleyball team, for example,” he said. “Our operating budget is about what’s left for all the Level II teams next year. So it would be impossible for us to be in our league, let alone go to two tournaments each year.”

Drew Love, director of athletics at McGill, explained that McGill’s sports model is based on prioritizing funding for Level I teams in order to help them be successful.

“We have always taken the approach that we fund our Level I sports in order to give them the opportunity to be competitive, and depending on how much funding we have available after we do that, we would then find a way to divide the remaining money up among the Level II teams,” he said.

Love added that this did not necessarily mean that these Level II teams would be forced to drop down to Level III.

“The pot of money for Level II teams is decreasing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that those teams won’t exist,” he said. “But it means that some of them will be competing with less support from the Athletics department than they’ve had the last few years.”

In addition to the $125,000 Athletics will lose due to the Overhead Recovery Fee – a new charge that redirects a percentage of Athletics revenues to the central administration – the proposed budget includes significant cuts in contributions to Athletics from Student Life and Learning. Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson explained that these are part of cuts made across the board in his departments due to the university’s difficult financial situation.

“The budget situation in the university is very serious. We do not have the money to do what we want to do … so it’s a matter of weighing priorities,” Mendelson said. “In the end we had to make the choice that the university cannot contribute to athletics to the same extent it has in the past.”

While Fabian said he understood the difficult situation facing Athletics, he questioned whether many of these Level II teams would be able to survive.

“I respect what they’re doing, but for many teams, if their funds are being cut, it’s a nice way of saying your program is cut,” he said. “Many teams can’t operate without it.”

Both Fabian and SSMU President Ivan Neilson expressed particular concern with the loss of a $65,000 contribution towards playoff expenses from Student Life and Learning.

“Overall, I’m pretty disappointed with some of the money that’s being pulled out, especially for playoff expenses,” Neilson said. “It’s important that McGill show a commitment to Athletics. Obviously we understand that the university is in a very difficult financial position … but it’s unfortunate that so many of the cuts will affect students so directly.”

Love, however, was confident that this loss of financial support would not prevent qualifying McGill teams from attending important playoff competitions.

“We’re going to have to find funds from other parts of the budget in order to support the playoff funding,” he said. “Certainly we wouldn’t ask a team that was heading off to a provincial or national championship to have to fund their own way to that championship.”

As for decisions regarding possible changes in the level classification of teams, Love said no decisions will xbe made until teams’ seasons are complete, and will be based on various criteria.

“The decision would be made by the administration,” he said, “and there are a number of issues that are looked at, including popularity, feeder systems, interest within both the McGill and the Montreal communities, success, and competitiveness.”

Fabian, for his part, said he hopes that any decision-making process should be made clear to all athletes.

“This needs to be done based on the right criteria, and it needs to be transparent,” he said. “Right now we don’t want to worry anyone. At the end of the season, everyone will know what’s happening. Now it’s just the waiting game.”