Academics Archives - Queen's Journal

Uprooting ‘hustle culture’ and its toxic byproducts

Written on February 5, 2021. Posted in Lifestyle, Postscript.

I attended a competitive high school where I took AP classes, made honour roll every year, and graduated with awards—but competition wasn’t limited to academic achievement. My peers competed for the worst sleep deprivation and greatest caffeine dependence, as if tired eyes and trembling hands were...

Academic culture is driving students to cheat

Written on January 22, 2021. Posted in Editorials.

Academic misconduct is a direct product of academic culture. Only in changing that culture can we address cheating and plagiarism. Earlier this week, two TAs sounded the alarm on Queen’s professors who treated acts of plagiarism in their classes leniently. While this is wrong, the frequency of academic...

Anonymous submissions are the key to academic fairness

Written on May 20, 2020. Posted in Opinions.

Queen’s University should implement the anonymous submission of assignments. Queen’s should follow the precedent set by many other universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, to implement the completely anonymous submission of tests, assignments, and exams. The non-anonymous system at Queen’s fosters...

Talking Heads: Professors, what's your best exam advice?

Written on November 29, 2019. Posted in Opinions.

“After 10 p.m., prioritize sleep over studying.” Rebecca Hall, Global Development Studies “Studying’s good.” Blair Robertson, Smith School of Business “Make summary pages of each course. Go through your notes and summarize the main points.” David Poirier, Engineering and Applied Science

Talking Heads: What makes a lecture worth attending?

Written on November 15, 2019. Posted in Opinions.

“Walking away with more knowledge than when you came in.” Jessica Grennan, ConEd ’21 “If you’re honestly interested in what the professor has to say, and the professor can keep people captivated.” Fahmida Hossain, ArtSci ’21 “The lecturer. If they can present something that’s more meaningful...

Student health is no less important than academic success

Written on October 4, 2019. Posted in Editorials.

Every year, Queen’s welcomes thousands of eager-to-learn first-year students who worked extremely hard to get into this high-ranking institution. But the mentality that students must push themselves to get into Queen’s doesn’t stop after they’re accepted into their programs. University culture...

Academic shallowness hinders students in the long run

Written on September 3, 2019. Posted in Opinions.

We all think grades matter, but not always for noble reasons. An impressive GPA can lead to graduate school and other exciting professional and academic opportunities. These indicators act like gatekeepers at doors to the future that can be hard to pry open. This instrumental reality can cause students...

Without academic accountability, universities suffer

Written on July 29, 2019. Posted in Editorials.

High schools in Ontario make a huge effort to prepare graduating students for post-secondary education, but there’s one thing they can’t prepare them for: the unregulated academics of Canadian universities. Public education in Ontario is governed by the Ministry of Education—each school is expected...

Certificate in Urban Planning Studies passes at senate

Written on May 28, 2018. Posted in News.

At an April 17 Senate meeting, the university approved a new certificate in Urban Planning Studies, which will be available in September. According to the Department of Geography and Planning, the certificate “provides a balanced, multi-disciplinary approach to the study of cities by incorporating...

Commerce program to terminate ranking system

Written on October 4, 2016. Posted in News.

After taking a hard look at the stress and anticipation experienced by Commerce students each year, the Faculty of Commerce has decided to eliminate the public ranking system that previously pitted peers against each other. On Sunday, Oct. 2, an assembly of the Commerce Society (ComSoc), discussed...

Female professors deserve better

Written on February 2, 2016. Posted in Editorials.

Actions speak louder than words. And the lack of action on wage inequity speaks volumes. Gender inequity is a problem across many Canadian universities and in the Canadian workforce in general. Although Queen’s has made strides to address the lack of diversity within faculties, women remain underrepresented...

Make your program work for you

Written on January 26, 2016. Posted in Opinions.

Sometimes, the most difficult path to follow is your own. “One size fits all” systems of education are designed to benefit as many people as possible. However, certain students in post-secondary schools who have a difficult time learning or staying mentally healthy may benefit from the exact opposite. Instead...

Talking Heads: What department other than your own would you like to take a class in?

Written on January 15, 2016. Posted in Opinions.

“A ConEd course on presentation.” Gabi Sandler, ArtSci ’17 “Music.” Jacob Walker, ArtSci ’16 “Kinesiology.” Angie Foote, ArtSci ’17 “Politics.” Abeer Abdulle, ArtSci ’17

AMS hires new Academic Affairs Commissioner

Written on November 4, 2015. Posted in News.

The AMS has hired Tyler Lively, ArtSci ’16, as Academic Affairs Commissioner following the Oct. 15 resignation of Read Leask. Leask, ArtSci ’17, resigned due to person reasons. Sarah Letersky, vice president (university affairs), assumed the portfolio in the interim. The Academic Affairs Commissioner...

A new home away from home

Written on October 30, 2015. Posted in Features.

Kevin Rush, a former Wilfrid Laurier student, says transferring to Queen’s wasn’t as simple as it sounds. When Rush transferred to Queen’s after the 2013-14 academic year, some of his courses didn’t line up properly. As a result, he was forced to take another year. “I was in computer science and...

Professor looks to keep language program live

Written on March 27, 2015. Posted in News.

LinguaeLive isn’t only a platform that pairs students together to learn each other’s languages — it’s a way of evening the linguistic playing field, according to creator Jennifer Hosek. Hosek, an associate professor in the department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures (LLCU), created LinguaeLive...

Africa Day builds partnerships

Written on March 27, 2015. Posted in News.

Five years after the inaugural event, Queen’s held its second Africa Day Symposium — a conference on the various research being done in Africa. The symposium ran all day Thursday, and featured several speakers in a conference during the day and a banquet with music and art in the evening. Organizers...

ASUS papers over problems in DSC election

Written on March 13, 2015. Posted in News.

ASUS switched to paper ballots during Department Student Council (DSC) elections last Thursday after experiencing errors in its online voting system, and there’s still confusion about who’s responsible. While ASUS representatives say there was an issue with the list they received from the University...

In pursuit of perfectionism

Written on February 27, 2015. Posted in Lifestyle.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been told, “You’re a perfectionist.” Admittedly, I strive to hold myself to the highest standards in life and school, but I’ve often hinged my satisfaction on the full attainment of these measures alone. Many times, I’ve focused more on planning a task rather...

Senate approves ArtSci internship program

Written on February 27, 2015. Posted in News.

A new Arts and Science paid internship program was approved at the Feb. 24 Senate meeting, paving the way for it to begin this September. The program would expand on the existing Queen’s University Internship Program, which ASUS President Adam Grotsky said is mainly geared towards business, engineering...

Provost releases HLTH 102 findings

Written on February 20, 2015. Posted in News.

Two weeks after being asked to evaluate complaints about Melody Torcolacci’s teaching of HLTH 102 — in which, students alleged, she taught anti-vaccination viewpoints — Provost Alan Harrison has released the results of his information-gathering. Torcolacci came under fire after fourth-year student...

HLTH 102 professor takes leave of absence

Written on February 12, 2015. Posted in News.

Following controversy over HLTH 102 slides that some students say teach anti-vaccination theories, Melody Torcolacci has left the course, and a new professor will teach it for the rest of the year. According to an email statement from Rosie Hales, a Queen’s communications officer, Torcolacci requested...

Women underrepresented in technology fields

Written on February 6, 2015. Posted in News.

When Faculty of Education Professor Lynda Colgan asks young students to draw a scientist, they usually draw a character with a lab coat, glasses and “crazy hair”. It’s also always a male. “The stereotypes around who scientists are and what they do linger in the public eye, and because those linger,...

Admin aware of Torcolacci problems in 2011

Written on February 6, 2015. Posted in News.

Though Principal Daniel Woolf was unaware of complaints against Melody Torcolacci’s teaching until Wednesday morning, a former student claims the University was made aware of the complaints he filed in 2011. Chao Gu told the Journal via email that he’d complained not only to Torcolacci but to many...

Queen's professor slammed for alleging link between vaccines and autism

Written on February 5, 2015. Posted in News.

A tweet criticizing Queen’s Health 102 professor Melody Torcolacci for teaching that vaccines cause autism went viral last night, but it’s only the most recent in a series of complaints about her teaching. A current HLTH 102 student provided the Journal with slides from a lecture titled “Vaccines...

A craving for competition

Written on January 9, 2015. Posted in Lifestyle.

Whether we strive to be the smartest, the fastest or the beer pong champion, it can be a rare thing to find oneself in a social context completely devoid of any contest. Most of us can’t even recall having been to a house party that didn’t at some point feature a chance to prove your superiority...

More to English

Written on November 21, 2014. Posted in Editorials.

“English … ah.” The conversation tends to end there, often because people think they know everything there is to being an English major. She must want to be a writer or poet. She must wear glasses and live in Starbucks, despise the sciences and debate the meaning of life using obscure metaphors. What...

Revising exam study strategies

Written on November 21, 2014. Posted in Features.

Many students focus on rote memorization and cramming to prepare for exams — but these strategies are rarely the most helpful, according to education professor John Kirby. As the December exam period approaches, learning experts say students should prioritize more effective study strategies to better...

Active learning classrooms officially launched

Written on October 31, 2014. Posted in News.

The University officially launched three active learning classrooms in Ellis Hall on Monday. The rooms are part of the Ellis Hall Active Learning Classrooms Project. According to its website, the project’s goals include “[creating] flexible learning spaces to enable active and collaborative learning”...

ASUS to consult students on ArtSci grading

Written on October 28, 2014. Posted in News.

ASUS will hold a town hall meeting on Tuesday for students to express their feedback on the Arts and Science Grade Report released in April, to be considered in ASUS’s official recommendation to the faculty. The meeting will take place between 5 and 7 p.m. in the ASUS Red Room in Kingston Hall, to...

Tag: Academics

The Journal, Queen's University - Since 1873

Get the App

Get the App