April 11, 2012

LU lands Starbucks for September 2012

By Ed Veilleux

The J.N. Desmarais Library rotunda, pictured here, is being ear-marked as the location for an on-campus Starbucks. Photo by Ed Veilleux.

The experience of waiting in a Tim Hortons line filled with dozens of students, stretching down the bowling alley, may soon be just a memory at Laurentian University.

Starbucks is on the way, according to Carol McAulay, vice-president of administration at Laurentian.

“We identified the library area as an area that could use additional services, particularly because often we see long line- ups at the Tim Hortons in the bowling alley,” McAulay said. “Both Aramark and (Laurentian) agreed that we need another outlet in that sort-of neighbourhood.”

Aramark currently, and for the next four years, has the contract to provide food services to Laurentian’s campus. When Aramark does a review of services, the company splits the campus into sections, or “neighbourhoods,” and they determined the academic neighbourhood (the library area) could use an extra outlet, according to McAulay.

“After discussion with Aramark, we agreed the library rotunda would be a great spot, so we’re working with them to bring another food service outlet.”

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March 23, 2012

SGA election results: Park Radio heard loud and clear, Rolling with Rollins gains traction, and Shook’s four-prong approach wins out

By Ed Veilleux

The SGA executive will have a new twist with a touch of the old for next year.

The ballots are counted and the results are in for the SGA elections at Laurentian University.

Newly-elected SGA President Andy Rollins, VP Issues Jarrod Shook and returning VP Services Iain Park will make up next year’s executive.

The ballot counting started just after 7 p.m. and, by just after 6:10 a.m., the SGA election officials had counted the eighteenth and final polling station.

In total, 914 people voted, equaling roughly 17.9 per cent of the SGA population. Quorum (the amount of votes needed to make the election results official) for the SGA election is 15 per cent, or roughly 765 votes. Having tallied 914 votes, the election results will stand.

The presidential race heated up with 596 votes counted (13 of the 18 polling stations), as SGA presidential candidate Andy Rollins took a 160-vote lead.

Steve Sutherland, the second presidential candidate, made up some ground when the fourteenth station was counted, closing the gap to 114.

But, in the end, Rollins held on to the lead 460-to-327.

The VP issues race was neck-and-neck right to the end, as Jarrod Shook totaled 253 votes, edging Nathan Knott by 32, and Olivia Coady by 46.

The VP Services race was a landslide victory for incumbent Iain Park, as he took home nearly double the votes of his nearest competitor.

McKenna Elsasser  took home top votes for a senator at 406, and never looked back after taking an early lead. Chloe Mirfield took the second senator seat with 364 votes. The third, and final, seat was snatched by Chris MacCulloagh with 318 votes, narrowly edging Sarah Williams (273 votes).

–

Official final numbers:

FOR THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT:

ROLLINS, ANDY          460

SUTHERLAND, STEVE  327

FOR THE OFFICE OF VICE PRESIDENT STUDENT ISSUES:

COADY, OLIVIA     207

KIRAGA, JOEY        132

KNOTT, NATHAN GREGORY    221

SHOOK, JARROD  253

FOR THE OFFICE OF VICE PRESIDENT SERVICES:

DAVIDSON, KIRSTEN   172

LAPLANTE KELSEY       138

LEBLANC, CAROLYN    65

PARK, IAIN                   332

SUTTON, TOM             140

FOR THE OFFICE OF SENATOR:
ELSASSER, McKENNA  406
MacCULLOAGH, CHRIS  318
MIRFIELD, CHLOË   364

SYLVESTRE, ALLEN  142
WILLIAMS, SARAH    273

REFERENDUM:
YES   518 - NO  352

914 VOTES COUNTED

The numbers have yet to be validated; these results are unofficial until further validation by the SGA.

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March 22, 2012

Pride set for referendum

By Matt Rabey 

The mandatory number of signatures was collected to signify 10 percent of the Laurentian University student population being in favour of a new $1 per student incidental fee to fund the Laurentian University Pride Office.

James Spires, Vice President of Pride at Laurentian University explains the importance of this new referendum.

“(This referendum) is important because our office is open to everyone, gay and straight. We host events for the gay community and the straight community and are open to any members as long as they are respectful and they believe in what the club tries to promote: diversity and tolerance.”

The President of Pride LU, Jesse Depatie, added: “Our offices and the resources that we offer are all inclusive to anybody and they are there for anybody who needs a safe space. It is another opportunity for people to come and be themselves and not get judged.”

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March 22, 2012

Therapy clinic now available for students

By Ron Guillet

Laurentian University students now have access to a therapy clinic, as included in the student levy, at ATRC Chronic Pain and Sports Clinic.

Laurentian previously had a clinic on campus, the Voyageur Athletic Therapy Clinic, but it was shut down last summer when the university decided to allocate more money towards academic programming.

SGA president Charlie Andrews said it was imperative for the university to offer the service.

“It is crucial for students to have access to athletic therapy, especially our talented varsity athletes and students in athletic programs,” Andrews said.

“Most importantly, students paid for this service at the beginning of the year. Not to mention, other universities with strong athletic programs have Athletic Therapy, thus, it is unacceptable for Laurentian University to not have the same service for the students.”

Andrews said students can expect to pay $5.00 in their tuition for four free visits with a professional athletic therapist before they have to pay. He also said another reason why they signed a contract with the company is because “they increased the coverage to students from $240 to $320, which gives students more visits.”

Andrews said the contract is short-term, as it ends on Aug.31, and will be evaluated by the SGA/AGE executive next year.

“This is a short-term contract to ensure our athletic students can take advantage of the service,” Andrews said in a report to the SGA board. “The executive of next year can determine whether they should renew the contractor or not. The therapist will be keeping stats on students using the service.”

ATRC Chronic Pain and Sports Clinic, located at 2140 Regent St. Unit 12, is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and can be reached by telephone at 705-674-2222.

ronguillet@gmail.com

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March 22, 2012

Music Unifies LU Students

By Kallie Berens


Ten thousand students at Laurentian University, from all around the world, have different interests and hobbies.

One common past time of students is music – whether it be listening to an album while studying or playing an instrument with a group of friends it can be found all around campus if one looks hard enough. Students listen to music while working out in the gym, countless studies have been made proving that listening to music while studying can help improve focus and memory, different genres of music – such as country – dictate themed pub nights and on the Internet people exchange Youtube videos of songs that they like with their friends. Music, to many, is a unifying force that can bring people together.

Kristine Cornejo is a first-year student living on residence who plays piano and sings. After performing at LU’s Got Talent – and winning first place with the group she played in – she performed at the SGA Charity Ball in February. Cornejo, a fan of R&B, met fellow group members Dylan Bakhuis and Kelsey Anthony in September after discovering that they had a mutual interest in performing together. Their “sound” involves beat-boxing, singing, a guitar and rapping.

Fellow group member Kelsey Anthony has been playing guitar since grade five, at first taking lessons but then discovering that her love for music was “slipping.” She has been writing her own material and singing since high school, playing talent shows and youth coffee house events in her hometown of Orangeville.

When asked what her favourite part of playing music was, Anthony said “the fact that people appreciate it. I don’t think I would continue playing music if I didn’t get the positive feedback that I get now. I also think of it as an escape route – some people when they’re stressed out will write or play video games – and I find that music is my escape. When I get overwhelmed with things I just pick up my guitar and I feel better.”

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March 22, 2012

Naked Tuesdays a ‘funny story:’ Puchala

By Ryen Veldhuis

Stephanie Barry (left), Bryan Cayouette and Samantha Puchala pose for a picture in the Games Room on “naked Tuesday.” Photo by Ryan Neal.

If you were walking past the Games Room sometime in the afternoon of Tuesday, March 13, then you may have noticed three people wearing almost no clothes.

In fact, you may have noticed one of them in particular who has been doing this every Tuesday for a while now.

Samantha Puchala, a second- year Sciences Politiques and Études Françaises student has

made a ritual out of

coming to Laurentian “naked”

on Tuesdays; a day she has deemed: “Naked Tuesdays.”

“Naked Tuesdays is the promotion of being naked on Tuesdays. So it’s just kind of a novelty idea that started. It’s basically just the idea of showing up naked and supporting various causes; being open with one’s body and to start conversations. That’s what this is about,” Puchala says.

In terms of how “Naked Tuesdays” started, “It’s actually a funny story,” she says. “A lot of people have Tuesday night classes and I have French Grammar, which can be kind of dry sometime. So I was joking around with friends that we need something to spice Tuesdays up, because they’re long days. So that idea was kind of floating around in my head and then one day at home I was kind of lounging around naked. I was joking with my roommate saying that ‘I have to go to grammar now’ –for the evening –and I just said: ‘I don’t feel like putting clothes on, I’m too lazy’ and he just said: ‘so, go naked’ and I’m like ‘oh my God, that’s a really good idea’ so I did it. And from there it just kind of started and things got going.”

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March 22, 2012

Lane shares expertise at LU

By Ryen Veldhuis

This year, Thorneloe University has had a new face in the halls: Dr. Bill Lane.

“I basically answered an ad for the position of sabbatical replacement. Ian Maclennan normally teaches half the courses in the department and he was going on sabbatical,” Lane says, about how he found himself at Laurentian this year.

Lane has been active in Canadian Theatre since the 70s, which he spent working exclusively in theatres as a director, playwright and dramaturg.

In 1982, Lane worked at CBC radio and developed, produced and sometimes directed over 500 radio plays. That same year he was both included in the 1982 publication of the Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre and won the first Pauline McGibbon Award: an award for Ontario directors.

In 2004, Lane received his MA in the department of Social and Political Thought at York University after having a BA for most of his professional career. He then proceeded to get his Ph.D. in the Department of Theatre Studies at York.

“I spent a lot of my life in the Toronto area and working in major cities and about three years ago, for personal reasons, I made a drive to Alaska from Toronto,” Lane says. “I discovered, which I probably already knew, but I discovered in a different way that there is a whole world north of Toronto. And I guess it was shortly after that that I saw this position advertised and I thought ‘well, it would be interesting to spend some time in Sudbury. It’s not as north as White Horse, but it’s still a bit further north than Toronto.”

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March 22, 2012

Laurentian Math Professor Luis Radford wins international award

By Kallie Berens

Laurentian Math professor Dr. Luis Radford poses in front of a chalkboard in his office. Photo by Kallie Berens.

Dr. Luis Radford was in Frankfurt at the beginning of February with three hours to wait for his flight to Toronto when he decided to check his email.

He was on his way back from Geneva, where he was attending a mathematics conference. After answering his correspondence he opened up an email from the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction which contained news about the recipient of the 2011 Hans Freudenthal Award, which recognizes major programs of research in the field of mathematics.

What he saw in that email was his own name, asking if he would accept this award.

“I couldn’t believe it. I had to read the email several times,” Radford said. “Our community is quite big – there are many groups in every country devoted to improving the teaching methods used in mathematical studies. It was a big surprise that they picked me.”

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March 21, 2012

SGA spends more than $168,500 on Pub Renos

By Ed Veilleux 

SGA President Charlie Andrews participated in the March 15 SGA candidates debates, held in Alumni Hall. He is seeking re-election. Photo by Ryan Neal.

By the time all is said and done, SGA members will have paid roughly $168,500 of their money to renovate the Pub Down Under, at least.

The most recent figures released, at a Feb. 29 board meeting, show the SGA spent roughly $135,000 on Corriveau Contracting for the majority of the work.

“There wasn’t an open bidding process,” SGA President Charlie Andrews said. “I told the contractor the budget was $80,000 to $100,000, and we had to work within there, and that was on the contract.”

The contractor charged roughly $135,000, according to a report presented to the SGA board.

When asked about the total spent on contracting, Andrews said, “It wasn’t a surprise.” He then elaborated that the TVs and furniture purchased were expensive, although they don’t impact on the cost of the contractors’ services.

Andrews decided to go with the contractor because of their ties to Laurentian University, he said.

“The technician for the university is also the same as the contractor,” Andrews said. “So, the reason that is important is that (when) the power goes out, at least they can get access to the resources they need to resolve the issue.”

The power went out on Dec. 27 while the contractors were working on pub and it was quickly restored, according to Andrews.

Andrews said because of his contractor choice, the renovations were also completed over reading week, while the university was closed down. With an outside contractor, that might not have happened, the president said.

The renovations were paid for by the off-campus housing fund (which was collected from SGA members to pay for the now-defunct Off-campus housing office) which totaled $179,677 and was collected over a few years. It was transferred to the SGA from the administration this year, because the office the funds were supposed to be paying for was no longer operational.

The numbers for the pub renos, up to January 4, were presented to the board at the Feb. 29 board meeting.

When the decision was made to spend the off-campus housing fund on the pub (the first cheque to Corriveau was paid in September), it was during a time when the SGA executive had the power of the board, under SGA constitution bylaw 5.02. Having the power of the board, the executive had the power to spend the off-campus housing fund without board consultation.

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March 21, 2012

Incumbent SGA President Charlie Andrews disqualified from election

An official letter from the former CRO, Dan Brunet, states SGA President Charlie Andrews was disqualified for committing several infractions over the campaign period.

The first fine was for wearing campaign T-shirts that hadn’t been approved by the CRO, at the candidate open house on March 13.
The candidate package states that “all campaign materials must be approved/viewed and stamped by the CRO before use or distribution, with no exceptions.”

Charlie Andrews was running on a slate with Kimberly Hempell (for VP Issues) and Kelsey Laplante (for VP services), and all three incurred a $10 fine for wearing the T-shirts, which brings the group to a combined $30 fine. When running on a slate, fines are given to every member of the group, because all members are considered “campaign agents” of each other.

The incumbent’s second fine came for campaigning in illegal areas, according to the letter. “(Charlie Andrews) wore said shirt mentioned above in the SGA office not only on March 15 but also on March 16. The first offence of this is a fine of $10 and the second occurrence of this offence is a fine of $50, according to the letter.

The third infraction Andrews committed  involved his Facebook account. The CRO said, in a candidates meeting on March 9, that all candidates had to make their Facebook accounts linked to the CRO’s (they had to friend him), to make sure candidates weren’t violating the online campaigning protocols.

Andrews, according to the CRO letter, failed to give access to his profile, which is deemed as an “obstruction of (the) election official and (results in) disqualification from the election.”

Andrews appealed his case on March 20, but the decision was upheld.

Laplante is still running in the election. Hempell has withdrawn.

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