Many North American university campuses are witnessing the rise of an alarming culture that endangers free speech by stifling those with nonconformist views.
“Mom. Always.”Hayley Chung & Sophia Su, Comm ’17 & ArtSci ’18 “Myself and Beyonce.”Elorm Vowotor, ArtSci ’18 “My housemates.”Meredith O’Brien, ArtSci ’17 
Last week, Queen’s was cited as Canada’s best employer by Forbes magazine. This assessment may ring true for some workers at Queen’s, however for many others it sounds like a Beaverton headline.
While the EQuIP and Positive Space programs at Queen’s are both valuable student resources, the positive space training itself needs an upgrade if it’s going to make a lasting impact on student leaders.
“Mac-Corry Hall.”Patricia Warren, ArtSci ’19 “Stauff.”Rebecca Lindsay, PHEKin ’19 “The ARC.”Jacqueline Toole, PHEKin ’19 
“Heading to to visit my boyfriend.”Jackie Ji, ArtSci ’17 “Seeing cousins in Waterloo and then going to Niagara.”Parnam Boparai, ArtSci ’19 “I’m spending the first weekend in New York.”Emily Beebe, ArtSci ’19 

Unpack voluntourism

February 16, 2017
The concept of volunteering for a few weeks in a remote destination may be doing more harm than good. While the country varies — India, Tanzania, Bolivia, Malaysia, etc. — and the initiative may be different — building schools, education, starting an NGO — the concept is the same: it’s called “voluntourism”.
Queen’s counselling services are making strides to accommodate more students but fails to solve issues surrounding the short-term approach that counsellors tend to take.
While the #DressLikeAWoman hashtag attempts to promote equality by showing that woman and their dress can’t be reduced to a single description, it doesn’t confront that defining woman is in itself problematic.
“Beyoncé. You get three valentines for one.”Shreeya Thakar, ArtSci ’17 “Wow, so many pretty people…Chris Pratt.”Samantha Rivas, ArtSci ’20 “Seth Rogan or Snoop Dogg.”Tiffany Tsilker, ArtSci ’20 
“A country in Scandinavia.”Claire Weersink, PHEKin ’20 “Japan.”Jeffrey Turnock, Sci ’17 “Paris.”Claire Swarbrick, PHEKin ’20 
When embarking on an education exchange experience, it’s important that young people acknowledge the differences that exist from society to society. This acknowledgment is the first step in making sure that the leaning taking place is healthy and beneficial to both the students and the country.
“Inclusivity in hiring practices.”Amy Haddlesey, ArtSci ’18 “Accessibility around campus.”Emily Forbes, ArtSci ’19 “Encouraging more hands-on learning strategies.”Jacquline O’Rourke, ConEd ’18  
Every year, when election season rolls around, I wonder how candidates prepare to run. This year, I had a taste of that process myself, when I chose to make a bid for Undergraduate Student Trustee. In the end, I chose not to fill out the campaign paperwork, but it wasn’t because I got cold feet. I chose not to run because the entire election process is incredibly inaccessible to the average student.
On Jan 19, to the dismay of the campus environmental community, the AMS Assembly ed a motion to dissolve the Commission of Environmental Affairs (CEA).
In September of 2012, I received a phone call I never thought I would get.
The ’10 Hour Rule’ needs to be abolishedIn the 1990s the Ontario Government sought from the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies (OCGS) for something called the ‘10-Hour Rule,’ which states that graduate students are not allowed to work more than an average of 10 hours per week on-campus. The OCGS adopted the rule, binding all Ontario universities to comply.However, in 2014 the government realized their mistake and struck the rule from all their policies, while at the same time the OCGS reiterated their for the rule.
“Being less stressed.” Olivia Litt, ConEd ’18  “Cooking for myself more.”Madison Kent, ConEd ’18  “Going to the gym everyday.” Sophie Travaglini, ArtSci ’20  

Advocacy starts young

January 13, 2017
One of the first things I saw this morning was a Toronto Star article concerning more First Nations kids taking their lives, and chiefs calling for help to deal with the suicide crisis. In conversation with a friend about it, she said to me “I wish I could help, but as a student I just don’t know how.”
“Hanging Christmas lights.”Elspeth Yates, ArtSci ’18  “Decorating the tree with my grandmother.”Jordan Adair, ArtSci ’18 “The food. I’m Polish.”Ola Lemanowicz, ArtSci ’18