Canadian Campus News

Ronald Leung-The Silhouette

Ryerson students turn to ‘Sugar Daddies’ for income
It’s not easy surviving financially as a university student – tuition, rent, food and entertainment attack from all sides as debt piles up. More than 150 Ryerson students, mostly female and in need of cash, have turned to dating website SeekingArrangement.com to find “Sugar Daddies”: older businessmen looking for company. These “Daddies” pay the students large amounts of money for dates, friendship and even sex. While not illegal, it certainly is a concern that some of today’s students are turning to prostitution to pay for education. (Reported by Diana Hall, The Eye Opener)

Memorial University theatre students get hate mail from Church in Kansas
The theatre class of Memorial University recently put on a production of Laramie Project, focused on the true story of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old who was physically attacked and left for dead in 1998 after being identified as homosexual. Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas turned its sights on the Newfoundland university by sending hate mail such as “God hates fags.” The Church has been known to picket the funerals of AIDS victims, American soldiers killed in the Middle East and individuals identified as “nation-destroying filth.” (Reported by Laura Howells, The Muse)

Burst reservoir floods McGill campus
Water freely flowed from the McTavish Reservoir on Jan. 28. The location of the reservoir, just uphill of McGill, allowed the leak to sweep through campus, resulting in hundreds of cancelled class and laboratories and over hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Although a home-made video of a student being swept away in the middle of the street by surging tides has gone viral, no injuries were reported. (Reported by Erin Hudson, CUP Quebec Bureau Chief)

Plans for new B.C. law school criticized for allegedly homophobic rules
The plans of Christian-based University Trinity Western to open a new law school on the West Coast has ignited controversy for proposing that all future student must sign a “Community Covenant” that outlaws pornography, alcohol on campus and limits “sexual intimacy” for “marriage between one man and one woman.” This gives the University sweeping powers to theoretically suspend or expel students displaying homosexual behaviour. Deans of law schools across the country have strongly opposed this point, arguing that Trinity Western crosses a moral boundary and is promoting discrimination based on sexual orientation. (Reported by Laura Rodgers, CUP B.C. Bureau Chief)

University of Toronto sex-based student party sparks controversy
The University of Toronto Sexual Education Centre recently held a controversial party at Oasis Aqua Lounge, where students were invited to spend the night exploring their sexuality. With pornography freely playing and piles of condoms and lube stacked in corners, it’s not surprising that this event ignited heated discussion on the online Toronto Star article page, which got thousands of shares on Facebook. Critics argue that “it says something about where our society is going morally,” but some students are proud of how accepting the event was. (Reported by Kristine Wilson, The Ryersonian)