National news in brief

University of Alberta to make pitch for tuition rollback

Ross Prusakowski, The Gateway (University of Alberta)

EDMONTON (CUP) — When members of the University of Alberta’s student council met with the university’s vice-president academic on Nov. 29, they were expecting him to give them his annual forecast of tuition increases. But his presentation held a different message: the university may roll back tuition levels — if the provincial government makes a few minor changes to the way the university is funded.

Dr. Carl Amrhein said the university will request the Alberta government to increase the base operating funding of the university by an amount equal to what has been raised from the last two years of tuition increases, and the extra funding the university will be receiving to cope with increased utility and natural gas bills.

If the province agrees, the U of A is planning to roll back tuition levels to the amount at the start of the 2004/05 academic year. While that wouldn’t result in students paying less next year, because of a provincial tuition rebate in place for this year, it would help protect against a large sudden increase if those rebates end in the future.

“I think [the province] will be receptive to the idea, but I don’t want to forecast what they’ll say,” said Amrhein. “They don’t want to see our quality [of education] eroded; they would like us to take more students. So if you add all of that up and recognize that they are generating massive revenues from the royalties on natural gas, I think it’s a very strong argument, and I hope they agree [to the proposal].”

“But at this point, it’s just hope,” he added.

MP wants ‘fiddy’ banned

Amy Chung, CUP Ontario Bureau Chief

TORONTO (CUP) — Toronto MP Dan McTeague’s request to ban rap artist 50 Cent from entering Canada has stirred mixed reactions from politicians and students.

McTeague alleged that Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s music promotes gun violence and has made a requisition to Immigration Minister Joe Volpe to prevent the rap star from entering Canada for his “Massacre Tour” that is set to hit Vancouver Dec. 3.

“There are indeed limits and restrictions on freedom of expression, particularly if they incite hate or if they are the kind of activity that is killing our youth right across Toronto,” McTeague told reporters.

“Toronto has witnessed an unprecedented number of young violent deaths as a result of gang warfare, gang culture,” he added. The city has had 72 homicides this year, 49 of which involved guns.

Jackson, a former drug dealer who has been shot nine times, has been under scrutiny for his music as it reflects his life in Queens, New York, and is depicted in his new movie, Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

Paramount Pictures had to remove some movie billboards due to complaints of glorified gun violence that the poster incited.

McTeague’s worries result from the streak of gun violence Toronto has experienced since the summertime. He also cites the concert where Jackson performed with veteran rapper Jay-Z at the Molson Ampitheatre in 2003, when a young man was shot.

But Volpe has not yet received any requests from the ministry to disallow the rap star’s entrance into Canada.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty disagrees with McTeague’s assertion, stating gun violence in Toronto is “much more complex than a rapper’s lyrics and image.”

However, there are some students who feel differently.

“We don’t need hip hop that promotes violence and gangs, especially with what’s happening in Toronto lately,” said Michael Prosserman, an executive member of Leave Out Violence at York University.

Canada’s first non-profit university to open doors in 2007

Eric Szeto, The Ubyssey (University of British Columbia)

VANCOUVER (CUP) — The president of Canada’s first non-profit, private university said the school isn’t serving as an antithesis to large public universities — instead, it’s an alternative.

Quest University is taking a novel approach to education by providing its students with a broadened curriculum that includes liberal arts and science courses while maintaining class sizes under 25 — contrary to the criticisms many large public institutions now face.

“The system in Canada needs to have different kinds of institutions meeting different needs, meeting different demands from its society — and we’ve had a tendency for students to be clones of each other,” said CEO and founding director of Quest U, David Strangway.

“The whole idea of this thing is small and intensive,” said Strangway.

Strangway’s brainchild was first conceived shortly after his tenure as president of UBC. With articles like the Maclean’s University Report highlighting the problem of keeping classes small and intimate with consistently scarce funding, Strangway recognised that the diminishing quality of education was undermining the undergrad experience. He set out to create an institution that would address these deficiencies.

”I think there’s a real problem with the public system,” said Strangway, “Something has to give,” he stated.

Going to Quest U carries a hefty price tag, however. For two semesters, tuition, room and board will cost a student $32,000. Subsidized by a $25,000 scholarship, this is approximately equivalent to what a UBC international student currently pays for tuition, room and board.

Controversy arises after attempt to encourage enrolment of visible minorities

Glynnis Mapp, The Eyeopener (Ryerson University)

TORONTO (CUP) — Ryerson student Saron Ghebressellassie never thought she would find what she calls “hate mail” in her inbox.

“People have called us reverse racists, and people have sent e-mails saying that we’re singling out [non-minorities],” said the second-year radio and television arts student and Students of Colour in Radio and Television (SCRT) representative.

Ghebressellassie and her SCRT peers want to see more visible minority students on enrolment lists.

“We’re not trying to exclude people, we’re providing a space to promote diversity,” Ghebressellassie said.

In November, the SCRT sent out a mass e-mail to radio and television arts students encouraging visible minorities to attend its first group meeting, but they got some unexpected responses.

One anonymous e-mail suggested that minority students are too sensitive about race-related issues. “Why do you people always complain about everything?” it read. “My parents came as European immigrants, and we fared just fine. If blacks and other minorities could just work harder and stop blaming white people for everything, you too can succeed.”

Another response suggested there is no need for a minority group in the RTA program.

A 2000 Canadian Race Relations report attributes the lack of minority representation in the media to a number of factors. Among them are networking barriers, small acknowledgement of experience gained from outside Canada, and lack of employment training for people of colour.

“Our whole program is about storytelling. Just think about all of the stories we’re missing out on,” said David Tucker, chair of radio and television arts at York.

Carrie-Ann Bissonnette, the on-campus liaison officer for Ryerson’s general tours, disagreed with the idea that the RTA program lacks minority representation.

Wanna be a movie star? Move to Saskatchewan

Jordan Jackle, The Carillon (University of Regina)

REGINA (CUP) — The Saskatchewan government recently announced plans to bolster the province’s film industry: soon, a tax credit of up to 55 per cent will be available for eligible film and video producers working within the province.

University of Regina film major Shawn Mehler, like many of Saskatchewan’s youth, once had his sights set on outside enterprise.

“My first semester I was all about leaving Saskatchewan, so I went to Red Deer College in [Alberta],” said Mehler. “After my first semester I realized that, although Alberta has been known for their film industry . . . all this time, under my nose, there was a thriving industry in Saskatchewan.”

He added that being a Saskatchewan resident has created opportunities that might otherwise have been unavailable.

“You’re out in the real world with a big debt load and you want to get to work as soon as possible. It makes it that much easier and that much more helpful if you can stay in Saskatchewan,” he said.

This sentiment is shared by Saskatchewan culture, youth and recreation minister Joan Beatty, who in a press release stated that “Saskatchewan is on the map when it comes to making movies.”