Canadian Campus News

Ronald Leung / Silhouette Staff

Lakehead law course change divides students and administration

A newly proposed law program at Lakehead University has divided faculty, administration and students. The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and the Federation of Canadian Law Societies has accepted the proposal for the law school that holds an indigenous studies course. Initially, the mandatory course was called Indigenous Learning 2805: Native Canadian Worldviews. The academic senate soon replaced it with Law 1530: Native Canadian World Views and Law, a move that caused contention with students, who said that the new course does not have the same reconsideration of western philosophy in an indigenous perspective as the original.

Israel boycott endorsed by York Federation of Students

The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign at York University has been officially endorsed by the York Federation of Students, causing an uproar for those who disagree with the campaign. The BDS campaign encourages universities to withdraw investments from companies such as Hewlett Packard who allegedly profit from Israeli human rights violations and war crimes. Students complain that as a representation of all students, the York Federation of Students should not take political stances and remain neutral.

‘Sunshine List’ reveals university presidents’ incomes

Ten Ontario university presidents received more than $400,000 in compensation last year. The highest paid out of the ten is Amit Chakma, president of Western, earning more than $500,000 in total compensation. McMaster University’s Patrick Deane came out 8th out of the ten, earning $410,486.96 in total compensation. The ‘Sunshine List’ consists of over 88,000 names and close to 15,000 work at universities. The previous year’s list only had 14,000 from universities. Although most of them are professors, the highest paid of the group are presidents and principals.

Carleton University pressured to close Rick Ross charity show

An upcoming April 9 show has the student union at Carleton University pressuring fundraising organisers to pull the plug on Rick Ross’ appearance. In the artist’s new single “U.O.E.N.O (You Ain’t Even Know it)” the controversial lyrics, “Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it/I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it” has caused an uproar, with students accusing the rapper of encouraging drugging and rape. The Student Federation at the University of Ottawa has already canceled Rick Ross’ appearance at their respective campus.

Soaring university costs catch parents off-guard

A newly released study by the Bank of Montreal (BMO) suggests that a child born in 2013 looking to receive a four-year degree could be looking at a total of $140,000 in costs. Analysts say that the rise would mostly be incurred from tuition inflation. While the average annual inflation rate in the last five years has been 1.6 per cent, tuition inflation has been 3.9 per cent according to the BMO. The BMO also notes that only half of parents have set up a registered education savings plan (RESP).