When I signed the University and College Presidents’ Climate Change Statement of Action for Canada earlier this week, it signaled both a commitment and a call to action for Queen’s. This “made-in-Canada” sustainability pledge was drafted by six British Columbia universities and has been endorsed by the heads of 23 Canadian institutions.
The Vancouver Winter Olympics are upon us and all of Canada is abuzz with excitement. Will Canada break free from being known as the only Olympic host nation in history not to win gold on home soil? Will Canada’s Own the Podium program produce the results we hope for?
Do we want a strategic plan for Queen’s University that privileges capital creation before quality education, reduces students to revenue units, excludes students from the decision-making process, and attracts global wealth instead of international students from diverse economic backgrounds?
Pursuing a post-secondary program is one of the first big decisions many of us make. Post-secondary education sets us on a career trajectory that typically influences the next several years—or decades—of our lives.
Udo Schüklenk Here’s the good news: this commentary won’t be accompanied by photos of a crying black baby or a maimed granny. I’m sure those few who have watched TV programs other than Entertainment Tonight or TMZ will have noticed that an earthquake hit Haiti a week or so ago, killing scores of people and destroying much of what was left of the country’s dilapidated infrastructure.
I was born and raised Catholic in a small town in central Ontario. I attended Catholic elementary and secondary schools complete with uniforms, multiple daily prayer times, in-school masses, and compulsory religion classes.
Although I don’t agree with anything he says, Glenn Beck makes an important offering to the American political discourse. For one, the television and radio host gives voice to a large group of people in the United States.
It was business as usual across the country on Dec. 30. No one seemed to notice our prime minister, Stephen Harper, personally take it upon himself to turn Canada into a part-time democracy.
Queen’s University has been traditionally known for its leaders of tomorrow, but campus politics at Queen’s today resemble a squabble among children rather than an open-minded, intellectual debate. We see this in the form of federal and provincially-funded ideological interest groups that dominate the discourse of campus politics due to larger funding and organization.
