Editorials Archives - Queen's Journal

Access for student journalists a right

Written on June 25, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Media access for student journalists shouldn’t be considered a privilege—or a novelty. It’s a right. Earlier this month, The Journal reported on attending a Doug Ford press conference despite initially being told by one of his staffers there wouldn’t be one. The Premier-designate made two Kingston...

Darts & laurels 2017-18

Written on April 5, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Darts BISC fiscal problems: Even though Queen’s has tried to increase enrollment at the BISC for years, they’ve consistently failed to reach their targets. On top of this, the UK Charity Commission’s annual reports showed that Queen’s satellite campus has faced persistent challenges to being profitable....

Advice from alumni can only benefit current students

Written on March 29, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

University marketing is always going to be focused on the goal of selling an education. If alumni and students were given the chance to talk to each other, it could open up a more honest and blunt conversation that could end up being both positive and constructive. During the most stressful points...

Liberal arts programs need to be protected at universities

Written on March 28, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

It shouldn’t take students launching a protest for universities to recognize there’s more value in studying liberal arts than pennies and dimes. At the University of Wisconsin at Steven’s Point, the school’s administration has proposed they drop 13 majors in the humanities and social sciences so...

Students shouldn’t have to choose between education and experience

Written on March 23, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Over time, the perception of what university is and what it’s meant for has changed. University isn’t exclusively about studying anymore. In the few years students spend as undergraduates, academics have always been a huge part of their lives. However, having experiences outside of academics is necessary...

We can all learn from National Geographic’s acknowledgement of the past

Written on March 16, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Throughout its history, National Geographic has participated in racially-biased media coverage of people of colour within the United States and around the world. On Monday, Editor-in-Chief Susan Goldberg formally acknowledged this on behalf of the publication for the first time. By making an example...

Ontario sex-ed curriculum needs to stay

Written on March 16, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

For any other school subject, we look to academics and experts to explain what children should be learning. Biological health shouldn’t be any different. In 2015, the sex-ed curriculum in place across Ontario was updated by the Liberal government for the first time in almost 20 years. Kids’ lessons...

Patient abuse needs to be in focus at medical schools

Written on March 9, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Currently, Canadian medical schools are taking a step in the right direction by trying to incorporate how doctors should interact with their patients into the curriculum. Despite this, there needs to be more of a focus on teaching medical students to recognise inappropriate behaviour in their colleagues...

Sexual assault policies alone aren’t solutions to sexual violence on campus

Written on March 6, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Having a sexual assault policy is one thing, having an effective policy is quite another. As revealed in a proposal from the Liberal government in this year’s budget, up to $5.5 million over the course of five years could be allocated to address gender-based violence on university and college campuses....

Campbell’s comments are out of touch with modern feminism

Written on March 2, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

In the past, Kim Campbell very much represented the way forward for women in Canada and continues to hold influence across the country to this day. Unfortunately, many of her ideas, such as how women should dress, haven’t aged quite as well. Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell recently admonished...

Queen’s needs freedom of expression guidelines

Written on March 2, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

We can’t wait for an unsafe situation to unfold before we attempt to prevent one. McMaster is in the process of creating a set of guidelines towards protest and free speech on their campus. This guideline seeks to provide a clear set of rules for acceptable ways for students to express dissent with...

Journalists have a major part to play in covering women in news

Written on February 15, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

As the most visible component of the issue of gender inequality, journalists have a responsibility to seek out women’s perspectives on the stories they write. While they can’t be charged with solving this issue by themselves, they can stop being a part of the problem. In an article from the New York...

Education on the Canadian marijuana industry is necessary

Written on February 6, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

With marijuana legalization coming in July, post-secondary institutions are rising to the challenge of providing education about the industry to Canadians. New courses are popping up in Canadian universities and colleges that seek to provide industry-specific knowledge on the marijuana industry to...

'O Canada' lyric change is necessary for positive progress

Written on February 6, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

It’s essential that, as a country, we’re able to re-evaluate who we are as time goes on. When the national anthem no longer reflects a nation, it makes perfect sense for it to be changed. The House of Commons recently passed a private member’s bill from 2016 that will alter the national anthem. Instead...

Sports teams need to be held accountable for racism

Written on February 2, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

It’s tempting to see the Cleveland Indians taking the infamous Chief Wahoo logo off their uniforms as a job well done, but the minimal gesture shouldn’t deserve anything more than minimal phrase. Not only will the logo continue to exist for the foreseeable future on Cleveland Indians merchandise,...

USATs need reforms to have a real impact on teaching

Written on February 2, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Even though everyone is expected to fill out USATs at the end of the semester, what students might not know is how much of an impact these single pieces of paper can have on their professors. The debate surrounding whether or not the USATs present fair evaluations of instructors has been around since...

Protecting students should be more of a priority

Written on January 30, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Sexual violence comes in many forms. Just because one may appear to be more severe than others doesn’t mean those others can be allowed. When it comes to teachers sexually abusing students, current Ontario policies aren’t aligned with this argument. The Protecting Students Act previously only encompassed...

We can’t settle for less with Team ECN

Written on January 26, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

We can’t be lenient on supporting student politicians that don’t meet our expectations, even when there’s no alternative. We need to expect better. In a 19-0 vote with one abstention, The Journal Editorial Board voted to not endorse Team ECN for the 2018-19 AMS executive. Team ECN, comprised of Emily...

Universities need to teach their professors about mental health practices in the classroom

Written on January 23, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

The University of Guelph has suspended a professor who students allege insulted one of their classmates who suffers from severe anxiety. Unfortunately, this professor isn’t an anomaly. Rather, this is just one example of a longstanding resistance to accommodating students’ mental health issues in...

Solely blaming the franchise owners won’t do any good for Tim Hortons employees

Written on January 23, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Tim Hortons employees have become a focal point for the debate surrounding the Ontario government’s minimum wage hike. While it’s tempting to look to one source of blame, the issues facing workers are the result of a complicated series of mistakes made by multiple parties. On Jan. 1, Ontario’s...

Respecting reproductive rights isn’t a matter of opinion

Written on January 19, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

The basic rights of Canadians, even those that may conflict with someone’s personal opinions, need to be respected in any workplace. Asking any employer seeking government funding to agree to uphold these rights is something to be expected, not protested. A new change to the Canada Summer Jobs grant...

Amnesty for pot possession needs a plan

Written on January 19, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

As we rapidly approach marijuana legalization, the government has yet to explain how they’ll tackle the organizational nightmare that comes with granting amnesty to those convicted of simple possession and other pot-related crimes. Tens of thousands of Canadians have criminal records due to convictions...

The liquor industry needs to work with alcohol consumption experiments, not against them

Written on January 15, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

With the limited resources that come with a population of just under 36,000 people, it’s not surprising that even a hint of a lawsuit from the Canadian liquor industry players was enough to snuff out an experiment like the one recently held in the Yukon. In the fall, the Canadian government financed...

Wronged students have a right to sue their schools

Written on January 12, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

One student’s 11-million-dollar claim against a university may seem clownish at first glance. However, behind the cartoonish sum is a surprisingly credible argument for a student’s right to an education. This case could inspire more students to sue their schools for failing to educate them, and that...

Local news deserves to survive

Written on November 30, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

With the rise of digital media, print-first newspapers have very quickly become unprofitable. However, it’s important to remember a small local paper’s primary function isn’t to make money; it’s to put a microscope on a specific community and hold local officials accountable. On Monday, Torstar Corp....

Efforts to increase fluency in Indigenous languages need Canada's support

Written on November 24, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Residential school systems in Canada have perpetuated the loss of Indigenous languages for centuries. Considering the level of endangerment Indigenous languages across Canada are facing as a result, government help in restoring them is vital. In an article originally published in Chatelaine, Métis...

It’s up to news media to curb sexist language in reporting

Written on November 10, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Despite holding the position of Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Ottawa Centre Liberal MP Catherine McKenna has been given the name “Climate Barbie” on social media by other government officials and news organizations. Last Friday, she took a moment to address a Rebel Media reporter...

Tag: Editorials