Queen’s may join other universities in banning bottled water

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.

Students failing language exams

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.

Understanding Wednesday’s General Assembly motions

Undergraduate students will gather tomorrow beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the Shatner cafeteria to participate in the Winter General Assembly. With seven new motions on the table there is a wide variety of SSMU policy to be decided. Motion Re: The Defense of Human Rights, Social Justice, and Environmental Protection Put forward by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, this motion has emerged as perhaps the most controversial Genderal Assembly motion.

COMMENTARY: What do you want from your GA?

There are few parts of the legislative process as controversial as the “rider.” Riders are unrelated provisos typically attached to bills that are politically impossible to veto or postpone, usually in order to pass unpopular legislation that would not get approval by itself.

EDITORIAL: Be it resolved: that SSMU abolish the General Assembly

If there’s one thing the Students’ Society’s biannual General Assembly does a good job of, it’s helping to discredit – on both an intellectual and a practical level – direct democracy, or at least the twisted, substandard version we will once again be exposed to tomorrow afternoon.

How to snag an Arts internship

Internships make many bold promises. But whether it’s hands-on involvement, exposure to the field, or networking and learning alongside seasoned professionals, internships’ selling points all centre on giving participants an experience comparable to a full-fledged job.

Level II varsity teams face dramatic funding cuts in 2010-11

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.

Common sense lacking in feud over MBA tuition hike

The latest round in the McGill administration’s ongoing feud with the Quebec government is much the same as the last. Predictable cries of “accessibility” are again pitted against claims of underfunding, as the sides face-off over a proposed tuition increase for McGill Master of Business Administration students.

HPV found in over 50% of young adults in new sexual relationships

Human papillomavirus has been found in more than half of young adults in new sexual relationships, a groundbreaking Montreal study has reported. Led by Dr. Eduardo Franco¬ – director of McGill University’s Cancer Epidemiology Unit – and a team of McGill and University of Montreal researchers, the study reported that 56 per cent of participants were infected with at least one type of HPV and 44 per cent of that group were infected with a high-risk type of the disease known to cause cervical cancer.

Provincial government clashes with McGill over MBA tuition rise

The McGill administration’s decision to switch to a self-funded model for its Master of Business Administration program, which would forgo provincial funding by substantially raising tuition, has recently drawn criticism from the provincial government. McGill’s Board of Governors originally approved the switch to a self-funded program at a meeting in July.

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