Students, faculty speak at Leslie Doucet memorial
Last night, Queen’s faculty, students and family of Leslie Doucet gathered in Wallace Hall to celebrate her life.
Doucet, a graduate student and teaching assistant in global development studies, died on Oct. 16.
She had had multiple strokes a few weeks before her death, Chance Boya, her son, said.
“She agreed to be my caretaker for weekends and she became my mother,” Boya said, adding that he was put in foster care and met Doucet when he was 12.
He’s been her son for 13 years, he said.
“I just couldn’t believe that this stranger took me into her house and raised me as her own,” he said. “She cared about everyone and she put everybody’s thoughts before herself.”
Boya said Doucet wanted to empower everyone she knew to change the world.
“Just think of what she would say to motivate you and hopefully that keeps you on your path,” he said.
A group of women sang and drummed in Doucet’s memory.
People in the crowd of more than 100 teared up, smiled and occasionally laughed audibly as students and faculty took turns sharing their favourite memories of her.
Doucet always spoke her mind loved to give people hugs, many students said about her.
Political studies professor Abigail Bakan said Doucet was a brilliant scholar who brought theoretical concepts of social activism into her daily life.
“It’s going to be really hard to imagine life without her.”
Gloria Er-Chua
Staff association ratifies new contract
Queen’s University’s Staff Association (QUSA) has agreed to a new contract. voted 244 to 132 in favour of the new agreement.
The new agreement includes a 1.25 per cent scale increase in salary and, as of Jan. 1, 2010, staff will no longer pay dental s.
Davin Carlson, QUSA chair of salary and benefits committee, said although QUSA s the deal, there’s some mixed sentiment towards it.
“There seems to be concern around the level of the scale increase and a lack of increase to the tuition benefit,” he said. “People are unhappy about parts of the agreement, yet everyone wants to get something.”
The staff employment agreement expired June 30 and they’ve been working according to the old contract since, he said.
“People are accustomed to getting a raise July 1 and are anxious to get something,” he said. “People have been going without money they anticipated getting.”
The tuition benefit is a refund the University gives to staff whose spouse or children are enrolled in any credit offering program.
The contract will be implemented in November and applied retroactively.
“They’ve given the staff association a lower increase than all the other employee groups at the University and a deal that is lower than what we’ve had in the past agreement,” Carlson said. “I would assume that this agreement has saved the University money.”
Rachel Kuper
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