It’s a simple question for which no one in the realm of academia has a real answer. We pay to earn a degree, but the university doesn’t sell a degree.

It’s a laughable question. It would belittle professors, reducing them to retailers of knowledge; apron-adorned clerks helping you navigate a superstore of degrees.

It’s a question that needs to be asked, because it leads to the clear answer in how a university should be run. If the student is a customer then the university should be run like a business. And that’s exactly why Dean Paul Bates is in trouble, and why OSAP is in a desperate need of rebuild.

Starting with the troubles in the School of Business, Dean Bates has gone through an in house tar and feathering. The internal audit by the Office of Human Rights & Equity Services has dragged his name through the mud for no one identifiable reason. The main faculty members who complained are the ones who think they deserve a promotion. They’ve cried that their voice wasn’t heard and that work is ‘stressful.’

Forgive my candor, but welcome to real life. There are no instances in which Dean Bates has used gross negligence to McMaster policy, and he has moved the program in the right direction with their move to Burlington. The fact that Business School has been run too much like a business for some business professors should be embarrassing for those faculty members crying bloody murder.

In the OSAP rebuild, the provincial government has taken some steps to make post secondary more affordable but have no real long-term plan. There is no business model to keep the OSAP lending rates on par with the cost of school. Again, this is only a problem you would find at the collegiate level.

What the Ontario government needs to do is link OSAP maximums to a blended value of tuition increases and inflation – a true representation of what university costs.

Don’t hold your breath.

Collegiate politics are dysfunctional. They represent an ideal world where everyone would have a say and all needs would be met. OSAP could never be linked to inflation and tuition because it would cost the government too much money. Dean Bates will never have the budget to give every professor tenure and appease their every need.

Collegiate politics makes winners and losers. Regrettably in their model, the only loser is the customer. Happy shopping.

Related posts:

1. DeGroote takes on the world
2. Mac quick to respond to allegations against Bates

Lakeport was sold in 2007 by philanthropist Teresa Cascioli to Labatt Canada. Many feared that the Lakeport plant would be closed by Labatt in an effort to shut out the discount beer market.

The three-year fear became a reality with a decision that was made in the United States, specifically Labatt’s parent company, InBev.

InBev completed their purchase of American Beer giant Anheuser-Busch, however part of the deal forced InBev to sell of Labatt USA.

“[The US tribunal] ruled that Labatt products sold in the United States needed to be brewed in the United States,” said McMaster business professor Marvin

Ryder, “So that meant, where London had been brewing all of this beer for shipment in the United States, that volume got transferred to a plant [in the USA].”

The InBev deal, completed Mar. 29, left Labatt’s London plant with a lot of idle capacity, but Labatt “will continue to produce Lakeport beer at our brewery in London, Ontario,” according to the brewer.

Labatt cited their highly efficient London plant, and Ryder also noted that they owned their London plant while the Burlington Street plant is leased from Hamilton Port Authority.

In a comment that will most certainly leave many Hamiltonians with a sour taste in their mouth, Cascioli said Labatt “made the right call.” Councillor Bob Bratina has called for a local Labatt boycott, and organized a rally outside the brewery on Thursday, Apr. 1.

The building is zoned for food and drink production, but it is unlikely that another brewer would move into the building. Labatt plans to strip the brewing equipment from the plant, muting the chance that another craft brewer could easily move into the Lakeport spot.

Before Labatt’s purchase of Lakeport in 2007, the plant won awards for its efficiency; Labatt has stated that the Burlington street plant is its least efficient facility.

Related posts:

1. Stelco shutdown shakes Hamilton
2. McMaster fights increasing unemployment rates

“Action must be taken to effect a positive change in the collegiality and functioning of the School of Business,” said McMaster President Peter George in response to allegations of discrimination and harassment at the School of Business, and more specifically, at its Dean, Paul Bates.

The Office of Human Rights & Equity Services conducted an audit, after Provost and Vice President (academic) Ilene Busch-Vishniac received several allegations by faculty at the School of Business, of which neither their names or their number were provided.

The audit is quick to point out that Bates is well respected by the industry outside of McMaster, seen as an, “expert” in his field, and has an overwhelming amount of support from the students of the School of Business.

The audit described a dysfunctional work environment within the business school that has caused some faculty to seek therapy and medication to deal with stress associated with the job.

“Faculty members have repeatedly stated that the School is divided into two camps: those who identify as being supportive of the Dean and those who are identified as dissenters opposed to the Dean’s leadership,” stated the audit.

The 22-page audit outlined a history of problems, pitting the faculty against the dean of the School of Business, extending prior to Bates’ term. The disputes against Bates fall under six categories: the Dean’s credentials, objections to his reappointment, expansion to the Burlington campus, Governance issues, the dean’s leadership and grievances with how Bates follows rules and procedures.

The audit makes it clear that many of the allegations come from faculty who felt that they deserved a promotion, and described an, “us versus them” mentality that has been rooted for 20 years.

Prior to Bates’ re-appointment to Dean, the McMaster University Faculty Association (MUFA) took a vote in which 81.8 per cent of the faculty stated they opposed the dean’s re-appointment. “It’s a peculiar move. I’ve never seen that before in the history of the university,” said Marvin Ryder, associate professor within the School of Business, “I think the reason MUFA did it, is because some faculty in the school felt concerned for being ignored, so MUFA did this to take the temperature of the faculty.”

At the same time, a vote among students found the exact opposite with 83.6 per cent voting in favour of re-appointing the dean, “It’s interesting that one person could have these different,” commented Ryder.

The accumulation of the report’s fractious and divisive findings led to an audit that suggested that immediate action needed to be taken. Much of the report describes long-standing dysfunction within the school, which has only recently become more into the public eye.

The move to Burlington may have been a catalyst, although Ryder doesn’t quite agree. “This situation with dean Bates is quite unusual because there is not one single event that you could change things on. This is a little vague I realize. I think if you asked some people who were upset with the dean, each one seemed to have a different reason. Yes they may have voted against Burlington, but it may have had nothing to do with Burlington, maybe they were voting against Burlington because Dean Bates wanted Burlington.”

The audit described two ways that the School of Business can move forward through its own policies. The School of Business is recommended to concurrently introduce their, “anti-discriminatory policy” for the alleged instances found in the audit, and begin the University’s, “group conflict policy” which would in a sense have a small three-person committee take over the School of Business for a period of time.

Peter George will be presenting his decision on how the McMaster will move forward with Dean Bates and the School of Business on Thursday, April 1.

“It is imperative that we find our way through these current difficulties and that we work together to maintain our focus on two overriding priorities,” stated George, “Our students require our close attention and I know you will ensure they continue to receive the high quality education they expect from McMaster. We must also maintain focus on the timely completion of the new business school building in Burlington and the successful transition of the MBA and executive programs to the new facility.”

Related posts:

1. The real world
2. McMaster’s next big move

The Ontario government rolled out changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) this past Monday, including $80 million to the student loan program in an effort to put more money in students’ pockets.

The changes come on the heels of the Ontario budget, released on Mar. 25, which included $310 million in funding to create an additional 20,000 student spots this fall. The Ontario government aims to graduate 70 per cent of the population in post-secondary institutions, aligning itself with the expectation that 70 per cent of jobs will require a post-secondary degree.

The changes to OSAP help students in a variety of ways. Highlights included raising the OSAP lending limits, adding 1,000 new graduate scholarships, adding a six-month interest free period of the loan following graduation and doubling the student income exemption from $50 to $100 per week.

The changes incited mixed response across the province.

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance immediately praised the changes, calling it a “victory.”

“Acting directly on the recommendations of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), the McGuinty government today announced a package of improvements to Ontario’s system of student financial aid that will increase the accessibility of higher education for those with the greatest need,” read an OUSA press release following the announcement.

The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) interpreted the announcement the opposite way. In an interview with the Canadian University Press, Ontario chairperson Shelley Melanson said, “Today’s announcement means that students can now accumulate $29,200 in student debt upon the completion of a four-year degree.”

John Milloy, the minister for training, colleges and universities attributed the changes to OSAP to the OUSA lobbying group. “It’s an acknowledgment by the government that we have a partnership with students,” said Milloy.

McMaster Students Union (MSU) vice president (education) Chris Martin declared the changes to OSAP, “an undisputable victory for students.” The MSU are full members of the OUSA advocacy group.

OUSA executive director Alexi White, was not echoing the sentiments of Minister Milloy. “Students in Ontario continue to pay the highest fees in the country,” said White, in a release.

Students will stand to receive an extra $10 per week, but there is no plan to tie the maximum amount of the loan to increases in tuition and inflation.

“It would eventually become a problem of capital for the government. Though loan money is paid back, increasing the loan maximums every year would mean the government would need to find more up-front capital to support it every year,” said the MSU’s Martin.

Conversely, he applauded the move to tie textbook costs to inflation.

“With textbook money provided through OSAP now indexed to inflation, the rising costs of textbooks will be covered,” said Martin.

“However, we have received no indications that the OSAP maximums will increase yearly to cover tuition increases. This points to the importance of dealing with the core issue facing our university system: dealing with the spiraling costs of our education that necessitate these tuition increases,” elaborated Martin.

Related posts:

1. Learning about your student loan
2. Province-wide student rally against rising tuition

The four CLA professors in question (Todd Alway, Greg Flynn, Andrew Lui, and Govind Rao) were nominated for MSU teaching awards. This is perhaps one of the few venues that students get a chance to scream to the university “These are the people are making university a better experience!”
A tenured professor is of more value to the university as a whole, as are the people that make the name for the university. These are the people that can work free of political pull, and concentrate on their work and their teaching.

It would be a boost to the department of political science to have another tenured professor, but if it comes at the loss of a professor that has had such an overwhelmingly positive impact on students, you have to question the timing.

Can’t they wait for another year or two? Running with the current CLA’s could be a good thing, until the University can find funding to keep the popular professors until a time when they can offer a more serious long-term plan.

The students have shared their voice. They have screamed it through teaching awards, petitions and their growing numbers on Facebook. Is the university listening? Are their hands tied at this point?

Surely there must be a solution that could keep the professors while moving the department forward. Their current move would only set the university back a step. And at this point, how many more steps back can Mac’s political science department go?

Related posts:

1. Please save our CLA professors
2. MSU teaching awards

Taken together, 2009/2010 saw a bright beginning with the revamp of Quarters into 1280. The bar, still in its infancy under the name of 1280, has yet to get rolling, but the forecast is bleak at best. Then, the MSU was hit with a $503,000 bill for missed PST payments. The reasoning? No one was given that job in the shuffle when McGowan became business manager in 2002. The result? $98,000 in interest payments right out of students’ pockets.

MSU Presidents and Vice Presidents have changed, and so has much of the support staff. The two mainstays for the $1.5 million in losses for the bar 1280 has been the 1280 management team and John McGowan.

It’s a lot to take in. It’s a lot to put on one guy’s shoulders.

That being said, if you ever oversaw $1.5 million of losses, would you still have a job on Monday?

Hurry, the next bus comes in 10 minutes.

Related posts:

1. 1280 losses tally over $1.5M
2. Editorial: General Assembly, for who?

The staff changes are a new move for the MSU, considering that manager Ismael Viegas was promoted following last year’s loss of $356,089.

Viegas declined to comment on the issue.

Leaving with Viegas will be head cook Don Jackson, and service manager LeRoy Douglas. While Douglas will run out the end of his current contract, both Viegas and Jackson are expected to receive settlement packages, although no details were provided by the MSU.

Since opening in 2002, 1280’s losses are estimated to total $1.5 million. For the past two years, the vice presidents (finance) of the MSU has maintained that the bar can make a profit.

Sources inside the MSU speculate that this was a move to save business manager John McGowan, who is ultimately responsible for the business operations of the union. The MSU has been under fire this year with poor management practices resulting in significant cost to the union. A recent government audit revealed that the MSU failed to pay provincial sales taxes on the health plan. The cost of the PST errors is presently over $503,000.

The MSU is appealing the PST audit, and vice president (finance) Andrew Caterine said that they will be getting “$15,000 to $20,000 back.” Those numbers are not final. MSU Comptroller Maggie Gallagher clarified that they are expecting the final PST statements to arrive in mid-April.

Speaking to 1280’s losses this year, Caterine highlighted that December and January have been extremely bad months for the bar, and that the average loss per month at 1280 is around $10,000. Currently, the bar has lost $150,000. Caterine expects the loss to be under $200,000 – contrary to the $242,000 figure reported at SRA this past Sunday by the financial commissioner Daniel Boccaccio.

“We let the management staff go,” confirmed MSU president Vishal Tiwari about the 1280 team, “they didn’t leave on their own accord… we appreciate all the help and commitment we’ve received from them to the bar, but we’re looking for something else, and unfortunately we had to let them go.”

Caterine expressed the difficulties of running a bar on campus, where the majority of residence students are under the drinking age. “it’s very difficult to run the student service aspect versus the running a business aspect. It’s been a unique experience.”

McGown continues to have the full support of the Board of Directors. “John McGown, throughout his time here, has taken on more work than we should expect from a general manager… our faith in John McGowan has not been waivered at all,” said Caterine of the MSU current business manager. Tiwari echoed those sentiments.

Caterine pointed to John’s extensive knowledge of the organization as a whole, to his work to maintain birth control coverage in the MSU health plan, and to his work to keep a revenue stream from GO Transit the highest in the country.

Related posts:

1. Editorial: Under the bus
2. Blog: The 1280 Logo Debacle?

My Nonno (Grandfather in Italian) has always had a garden in his backyard. It’s really a source of pride for him, especially his tomato plants. Pasta sauce always tasted better at Nonno’s house, which could only be because of his garden. When my Nonno could no longer take care of the garden, he split it up between my two uncles, one of whom was his son, and one who had married into the family. This, from what I understand, is when the argument started.

Since then it has been a bitter battle over who has the better part of the small garden, as tomatoes would grow better on one side than the other. Crop after crop the argument grew, and it boiled over to a point where it was no longer about tomatoes or their spot in the garden; it was about something else, something none of my family can really understand.

The argument erupted at an Easter dinner some time ago. Now, at every family dinner, I only get to see either one uncle or the other as the uncles both continue to fight. And all the while, the garden remains empty. Neither of the two can grow anything in such hostility.

My cousins have started to fight with my other cousins now. In defence of each of their fathers, they continue what their elders have started, disregarding the original cause, and basing their hatred of the other on what their father told them of the other.

Now, my own sister has now gotten involved. She sided with one of my cousins and, indirectly, one uncle. She keeps pestering me that I should side with her, despite not having a stake in the garden. She says it’s not about the garden, and I ask her what it’s about. Long-windedly, she tells me. It’s what about what my one uncle has done to the other. She is so young; she forgets the garden. She must not remember the taste of the pasta sauce made from the fruits of the garden.

I stay out of this argument because I am not a part of it. There are not my tomatoes, it’s not my garden, and I like both of my uncles.

I love my entire family, I really do. I don’t want to not talk to my cousins because my uncles are fighting. Some of those cousins weren’t even born when the garden was split up.  And yet I find myself seeing only one set of cousins this Easter dinner, and not seeing one Aunt all together.

Twenty or fifty years from now, my Nonno will have passed away, and maybe my uncles too. I’m afraid that even though we will never go back to my Nonno’s house – the house with the garden – the fight that started over a small tomato strip will continue to grow, even in my new home.

In that future Easter dinner, fifty years from now, I want all my cousins at the table. I want my sister to talk with my other cousins once again, and share the same dish of pasta. I don’t care where the tomatoes grow anymore.

• Jeff Green

Related posts:

1. The Free Press – Half Truths and Whole Lies
2. Editorial: Empire state of mind

After watching the Canadian Men’s Hockey beat up on the Russians, the place erupted into a singing of the national anthem. Something so far from Canadian as I knew it two months ago.

So what’s the difference? We bring the biggest party into our own backyard and all of a sudden we become the biggest patriots, how does that work? And more importantly, should we?

Well why not? Isn’t this country far overdue for a little bravado? A little hoo-rah, we’re red and white, take it or leave it.

Why not? We’ve been apologetically pathetic when it comes to patriotism for far too long. Take, for example, every world cup. Every four years, second-generation Italians, Brits, Portuguese, Spanish, and the rest adorn their car in their parents’ parents’ flag, pretending to be apart of the celebration. They couldn’t tell you what city Ronaldo was from, but they’d be more than happy to paint the town if Portugal won.

So this is a long overdue celebration. What is a Canadian? Who cares? Right now, a Canadian is a white/brown/black/green kid with a Sidney Crosby jersey on their back, cheering on Ice Dancers and Lugers. We’ve stopped asking who we are and started cheering for what we are.

Enter, the “Own the Podium” debate.

Much has been said about the supposedly “un-Canadian” campaign; that to state that we should “Own the Podium” is too “American,” too arrogant, conceited and bigheaded.

Think of it this way: this nation, the second largest nation in the world, has yet to have a nation-defining moment. No civil war, no great history (arguably), no traditions and no unanimous celebration. The last thing we had was in World War I, where Canadians defined ourselves as the ultimate shock troopers when the took Vimy Ridge. We woke to the British up to that we were a nation, and not just a commonwealth. Filled with adrenaline and fear, our great grandfathers jumped over the trench to define a nation, only to be a footnote in Canadian history. We, as a nation, rarely rally around a moment that could have defined us. It was too singular, too non-inclusive for our multi-cultural nation.

Yet here we are – standing between pride and prejudice – with half the nation ready to define themselves as Canadians, and the other half thinking our stating our goal as “best in the world” too narrow-minded, too intolerant, too American.

I’ll gladly stand up for round three and four of “O Canada” just to know that some people in this large country were brought together by this single event. To know that we, as a nation, can move forward with an identity. Yes, we are polite, but we are the best in the world.

We’re proud, we’re red and white, and we’re Canadian. I think I’ll order one more pitcher, and one more round of “O Canada.”

Related posts:

1. Editorial: Choose to help
2. Editorial: The General’s last bullet

Why, you sold a service (the Short Stop) without asking them. You run a bar (1280) into the ground ($800,000 in losses in two years). You run a day-care (yes, your MSU dollars run a day-care) that loses money (only $460,000 over 10 years).

So why the hell would you want to listen to students? They only pay hundreds of dollars in “supplementary” fees a year to you. They’re only the people you claim to represent.

So take the only forum where direct student input would be taken seriously – the General Assembly – and put it on a day that NO student will ever go: St. Patrick’s Day.

Just put it on Christmas and save yourself the trouble.

General Assembly is March 17, 2010 this year in the Burridge Gym.

When every student is at a pancake kegger, drinking green beer until their face turns green, the MSU is attempting to hold a General Assembly – the once-a-year time that students have a chance to say what their student union should do.

Why not just tell them not to come. Just tell them to fuck off, let them pay exorbitant amounts. Screw them out of money.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that you’d get 15 per cent of 1280.

Why doesn’t the MSU just tell students right to their faces that they don’t give a shit. At least then we’d have some sense of accountability. Maybe then they would wear the guilt and shame they so rightly deserve.

Related posts:

1. Minimal attendance at General Assembly
2. GRA Assembly clears out after Kin motion