January 25, 2008
Yesterday, students at the University of Western Ontario and its affiliated colleges pledged $86 million over the next 30 years to support the new Western Sports & Recreation Centre, and $15 million for grad and undergrad bursaries. The $15 million will be matched by the Ontario Trust for Student Support, creating about 650 annual bursaries worth $2,000 each. This is the largest donation ever made by a student body to a Canadian university. USC president Tom Stevenson says the students wanted to help ensure Western can continue to offer "Canada's best student experience."
Ryerson University will have a Student Learning Centre, thanks to a $45 million funding announcement from the province of Ontario. The centre will provide students the study space and facilities that are much needed to "continue building Ryerson's unique professionally-oriented programs." The SLC will also take Ryerson out onto Yonge Street in downtown Toronto.
Simon Fraser University has received a $4 million donation from philanthropist Djavad Mowafaghian, towards improving the lives of children. $2.5 million will fund research in children's health policy, and $1.5 million will build a level 3 containment laboratory for infectious disease research. SFU's interdisciplinary children's health policy centre and infectious disease researchers are working towards preventing illness. Just 5 infectious diseases are responsible for 90% of the world's infant mortality.
CASE's 2008 North American regional Accolades Awards have been announced, and York University has taken the largest Canadian piece of action with 7 awards (2 golds, 3 silvers, a bronze, and an honourable mention). uToronto received 5 (a gold, 2 silvers, and 2 honourable mentions). uOttawa took a gold and silver, while nearby Carleton took a gold and a mention. Wilfrid Laurier University received a silver and bronze, and Ryerson took a bronze as well. uGuelph received an honourable mention.
The Nasivvik Centre, a research project co-directed by Trent and Laval Universities, has received $1.76 million in research funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. The funds will be used to develop expertise among Inuit and other young researchers to address health and environment issues in the north. In the past, most Arctic research has been directed by southern-based scientists.
The president of York University has issued a statement conveying "dismay" over racist graffiti found at York's Student Centre earlier this week. The York community is urged to "never be complacent. We cannot allow these hateful ideas to fester and spread." The graffiti was found on the doors of the York University Black Students' Alliance (YUBSA) office. YUBSA is adding its voice to the chorus calling for a campus safety audit.
Preliminary application statistics indicate a 4% increase in applications to Ontario's colleges this year. OCAS (the Ontario College Application Service) has received 54,429 applications, as of one week ago. Colleges Ontario's president states, "the increase confirms that greater numbers recognize the importance of college education and training." Approximately 60% of Ontario first-year PSE students head to college, while just over 40% go to university.
The City of Oshawa's Development Services Committee has voted "yes" on a controversial bylaw that will now go to city council for a final vote. The proposed bylaw would require landlords to get licenses, uphold strict housing standards, and put limits on the number of bedrooms allowed per house. The bylaw is meant to resolve noise, parking and "irresponsible behaviour" concerns, but has been publicly criticized as an attack on students at UOIT and Durham College.
Schools may want parents to butt out of the college scene, but students are saying they like their hovering "helicopters." Approximately 75% of US freshmen report that their parents are involved just the "right" amount. The remaining quarter were more likely to say their parents should be more involved, rather than less. A recent report noticed that parents took to hovering with renewed zeal at the start of the second semester. Some college officials are concerned that extreme parental involvement will prevent students from learning to make their own decisions.
Those of you addicted to YouTube won't be surprised: user-generated video pulled in 22 billion views in 2007, a 70% increase from 2006. User-generated videos averaged 10,695 views apiece, with the most-viewed video collecting 216,596 views total. Younger viewers seem to crave this new content trend more than older internet users: 13% of 25- to 29-year-olds would watch more if more was available, while only 4% of 50- to 64-year-olds crave more.
rtraction