October 14, 2005

Wrong way to encourage women engineers

A recent Toronto Star article reported that the number of women studying engineering in Ontario is on the decline. Five years ago, 30 per cent of first-year engineering students were female, compared to 20 per cent today. In response to the decline, engineering schools have taken steps to entice …

October 6, 2005

Cheer up, buddy

It’s been a rough couple of weeks, eh? I mean, we’ve all been taking a serious beating in the press, our teachers are comparing us to the minions of the Third Reich, trees are attacking our homes a…

October 6, 2005

Council recommendations a good start

Tuesday night, at the Kingston city council meeting, councillors voted in favour of requesting that Queen’s provide financial compensation for the costs of having the police, fire and ambulance ser…

October 6, 2005

U of T president goes back to undergrad

David Naylor, U of T’s new president, spent his first day on the job attending classes and will continue to do so for the rest of the week at all three of U of T’s campuses. He will also be going t…

Dear Coffee and Co.

October 4, 2005

Dear Coffee and Co. on the corner of Division and Johnson, Yesterday it was pointed out to me that you and Stooley’s are gaining a new neighbour on the corner of Division and Johnson. While I reall…

Martin upholds political ideals

October 4, 2005

During the next three weeks, a gathering of Catholic bishops may consider denying Holy Communion to politicians who have supported the legalization of same-sex marriage. Although a practicing Catho…

Letter offends, misrepresents students

October 4, 2005

Adèle Mercier’s letter to the Toronto Star spurred an intense reaction from Queen’s students. Her depiction of those on Aberdeen as “numbskulls worthy of the Hitler youth at the drop of a beer keg,…

Who you gonna call? Not the police

September 30, 2005

Water cannons and tear gas, riot squads and Tasers. These are just a few of the recent threats made by police and city officials in regard to what could happen next year should the Aberdeen Street …

Aberdeen reaffirms JComm’s powers

September 30, 2005

An emergency AMS Assembly meeting was convened Tuesday night to discuss the events on Aberdeen street during Homecoming weekend. Unanimously, assembly members voted in favour of maintaining the AMS…

Aberdeen coverage too sensational

September 30, 2005

In the past few days the events on Aberdeen have garnered immense amounts of negative publicity, not just locally but across the country. Police Chief Bill Closs described it as a “drunken street b…

The woes of retail therapy

September 27, 2005

Given the stress of a new school year, a friend and I decided to spend some time on ourselves. We dubbed it “retail therapy,” and spent the afternoon shopping, not because we needed the clothes, an…

Madness and mayhem on Aberdeen

September 27, 2005

Smashing bottles is not a Queen’s tradition. Flipping cars is not part of the Queen’s spirit. As a student body, Saturday night was not our finest moment. It is a blemish on the reputation of this …

Frosh, this one’s for you

September 20, 2005

Back in September of my first year, I got crafty. I grabbed sparkles, squeezed out dollops of glue and snipped myriad letters from fashion magazines to construct a garbage-bag sign to post on my re…

Energy drink raises concerns

September 20, 2005

Mountain Dew’s energy drink is a new addition to the slew of other caffeinated beverages that are now available in Canada. A recent Globe and Mail article that detailed how the new drink stacked up…

Terry Fox Run still going strong

September 20, 2005

Terry Fox’s legacy lives on. This past Sunday, Queen’s students, along with people across Canada and around the world, participated in the 25th annual Terry Fox Run. In 1977, when he was just 18 ye…

Fill ’er up

September 16, 2005

My main squeeze is quite the catch. He’s tall, dark and handsome. People who know him describe him as smooth, bold and full-bodied. He gives me a reason to wake up in the morning and more often tha…

Transgenderism still taboo

September 16, 2005

The issue of transgendered people is still sometimes as taboo in a community as intellectually progressive as Queen’s as it is in most parts of the globe. In California, two men were convicted this…

The Aberdeen alternative

September 16, 2005

The University’s most recent attempt to thwart attendance at the Homecoming celebrations on Aberdeen Street is taking shape as a five-hour concert at Miller parking lot, featuring bands like Metric…

No books for Mrs. Becks

September 13, 2005

This summer, I rekindled an old romance. I started reading for fun again. When I was growing up, I would spend the majority of my summers reading. I loved getting lost in the exploits of the Baby-S…

Police enforce law in Ghetto

September 13, 2005

Last week’s higher-than-average total of students charged with alcohol-related offences shows that students are being held accountable for their illegal actions, and rightly so. Students who live i…

Cancellation a poor decision

September 13, 2005

After-Hours Childcare (AHC) is an important service to those who use it and before the AMS Board of Directors took the liberty of cancelling it, they should have come up with a firm solution instea…

The Journal vs. Crimson

September 9, 2005

I’ve got a problem with Harvard. I’ve never been to the Harvard campus, nor have I ever been to Massachussetts, but I’ve still got an axe to grind. Harvard claims to have the oldest campus newspape…

CBC woes bring quality into question

September 9, 2005

The nearly four-week CBC lockout of 5,500 of its employees has brought all of the company’s outlets to a virtual standstill. Negotiations had been taking place between CBC management and its employ…

Katrina relief concert raises controversy

September 9, 2005

On Sept. 2, during NBC’s Concert for Hurricane Relief to benefit victims of Katrina hip hop musician Kanye West diverted from his teleprompt script to make some very pointed and unexpected comments…

Delving into human nature

July 26, 2005

Earlier this week, on a particularly sticky July afternoon, my friend Emily met me for lunch. It was one of those Maine days where the sun shines so brightly that the entire world seems illuminated…

Welcome to Queen’s: a primer

July 26, 2005

As first-year students arrive at Queen’s, they will be entering a dynamic environment and one they can influence more than they may think. Here’s a brief overview of some ongoing issues: • Construc…

Journalism’s powers on trial

July 26, 2005

New York Times journalist Judith Miller was sent to jail on July 6 for for refusing to testify to a grand jury inquiry into the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Miller was in co…

Polygraph, anyone?

June 28, 2005

What is truth?” Pontius Pilate’s question seems particularly apt in light of recent political events. In an age where an increasingly disillusioned electorate tends to see politicians as liars and …

Barrie concert: Live 8 or G8?

June 28, 2005

In the past few weeks there has been an enormous media frenzy over the upcoming Live 8, a series of concerts to be held around the world on July 6; the date coincides with the G8 summit where G8 na…

Task Force offers partial solution

June 28, 2005

On June 15, the Principal’s Task Force on Community Relations released its 36-page report. The 13 recommendations respond to the ever-widening division between permanent residents and students, and…