British college uses Facebook as a retention tool, claims a “significant improvement in retention”

Read the full story at the BBC

Also on Academica’s Top Ten

What are universities doing to address growing mental health issues among students?

On a Saturday morning at the beginning of this school year, a second-year student jumped from the window of his residence room at the University of Ottawa, an apparent suicide. As the details of the tragedy became clear, friends expressed how shocked they were by the death. In an excellent article written by Kelly Egan for the Ottawa Citizen, he was described as “a happy, motivated young man who travelled broadly, spoke several languages, had a leadership role at the residence and plans of entering law school.” How could this have happened to such a bright, promising young person?

The reality is that depression is incredibly common among students, especially those early in their university careers. Even the most ambitious and energetic students can be affected by depression and other mental health issues, and this often comes as a surprise to their friends and family of students.

Lev Bukhman knows all about what ails students. He’s worked with them for some 20 years, and is currently executive director of Student Care Networks, a leading Canadian health insurer that provides health and dental packages to over 450,000 students. Bukhman’s position gives him an insider’s view of what type of health problems students suffer with and medicate, and what he has noticed is more and more students struggling with their mental health.

“Mental health issues are one of the biggest challenges facing students today,” Bukhman says. In fact, anti-depressants are one of the most common medications taken by students. At most universities covered by Student Care Networks, anti-depressants are the number one drug, ahead of oral contraceptives and acne medication. Typically anti-depressants account for a third of drugs covered by student health plans. At one university—which Bukhman selected randomly from his files—35 per cent of all drug claims were for anti-depressants.

Although most universities don’t collect mental data about students, every counselor I spoke to said they’ve seen an increasing number of students seeking treatment for mental health problems. Statistics from the few schools that do collect mental health data are enlightening. At the University of British Columbia, 11 per cent of female and 13 per cent of male students reported in 2008 that they seriously considered suicide at least once in the previous year, according to Dr. Patricia Mirwaldt, director of student health services.

Professor, 37, has allegedly been spying for North Korea since the early 1990s

A South Korean university lecturer accused of spying for North Korea since the early 1990s has been indicted on espionage charges, prosecutors said Thursday.

The suspect, identified by the surname Lee, was charged with giving North Korea confidential information, including the locations of key South Korean military facilities and an army operations manual, prosecutors in Suwon, south of Seoul, said in a statement.

The 37-year-old man, who taught politics at a South Korean university, was arrested on Sept. 11 and indicted Tuesday for violating South Korea’s National Security Law, the statement said. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

There have been several espionage cases in South Korea in recent years. A year ago, a North Korean posing as a defector was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on espionage charges.

Lee began spying for North Korea in 1992 after meeting North Korean agent Ri Jin Woo while studying at the University of Delhi in India, prosecutors said.

He stored “vast amounts of confidential military information” on compact discs, portable drives and laptop computers, which he relayed to Ri during meetings in China, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and elsewhere, they said.

Lee gathered the information while working as an army officer, an adviser to the presidential National Unification Advisory Council and at the government-run Education Center for Unification, prosecutors said. He also joined North Korea’s Workers’ Party in 1994 after making a secret trip to the North, they said.

South Korean law prohibits its citizens from making unauthorized trips to communist North Korea. The two Koreas remain in a state of war because their conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.

- The Canadian Press

After weeks of protest, social work students will get full funding

York University backpedalled on its decision to reduce funding to graduate students in the Master’s of Social Program late last week. Just weeks ago, students were informed they would receive only $6,600 of $10,000 promised in their letters of acceptance. After weeks of protest, graduate studies dean Douglas M. Peers sent an email confirming that students would be awarded the full amount.

York originally told students that they must have misinterpreted their acceptance letters, and that they would only receive $6,600 during their second year of study because the year only consisted of two semesters. However, the acceptance letter (click here to view letter) does not contain any mention of prorated funding. The letter reads, “In recognition of your excellent academic record, York University will award you a minimum of $14,000 in Year One of your full-time master’s study, and $10,000 in Year Two of your full-time master’s study, in the form of a tuition scholarship, teaching assistantship, research assistantship or graduate assistantship.”

In his email to students, Dr. Peers wrote that “normally the funding is prorated for students registered in five-term programs.” But because of the lack of clarity in the admission letters, he wrote, the Faculty of Graduate Studies would make an exception for master’s of social work students and award them $10,000.

“I am very happy that York has decided to honour our funding package,” says master’s of social work student Erinn Michele Treff. “It’s unfortunate that it had to come this far—petition, letter writing campaign, legal advice, and an article in Maclean’s—however, I can buy books and groceries again.”

“Sexiled?” Really? University students should grow up

While perusing GoogleReader, my daily procrastination destination, I found this Globe and Mail piece. Here’s an excerpt:

Rachel Fahlman was puzzled when she stumbled upon students camping out on a battered couch in the TV lounge of her Carleton University dorm. They had, after all, paid thousands of dollars to rent a room for the year.

It turned out they’d been sexiled: forced to find another place to spend the night while their roommates had sex in their shared room.

Oh the joys of having a roommate.  Who can forget that special person you were forced to live with – oops – enjoyed sharing a room with during first year?  No matter how many times you hear the whole shpiel about the rewards, the friendships, the late-night girl chats, it doesn’t change the fact that sharing a room is a tricky skill – but it’s definitely a life lesson worth learning.

At King’s, the residence matching system involves the usual lifestyle habits (Do you go to bed early or late?  Do you listen to music while you study?) and a paragraph to personalize your application.  When they matched my roommate and me, somehow they managed to put two people so incredibly alike together, it was ridiculous.  We had similar figures of speech and mannerisms.  My friends found the match remarkable.

Despite all of this, my roommate experience was far from perfect.  My main issue?  There was always another person in my space.

It’s awkward to suddenly have to share your space.  With so many of us coming from homes where we had our own room, it’s a skill we just don’t have.  It sticks us outside our comfort space – and that’s why it’s so great.    I learned to communicate.  I learned to compromise.  I learned my own personal limits.  For example: I need my space.  But sometimes you don’t always get what you want, and if you do, it’s because you work for it.

Here is my disclaimer, however; I love my ex-roommate.  She’s a lovely person, really fun and funny, caring and loyal, exactly the kind of person you want on your side.  I only wish we’d been in the same classes and not in the same dorm room.  I know for sure I wasn’t always easy to get along with.

But despite my issues, my roommate and I, from the start, negotiated what each of us needed.  We were understanding when hearing requests and reasonable when making them.  It is perfectly reasonable to ask a roommate for some time alone in the room – for any reason, not just sexile – but it is not reasonable to take it by force.  Sorry.  Also unreasonable?  Sex while your roommate is IN THE ROOM.  I hope everyone reading that is cringing and saying “What?” and “Who would DO that?” out loud.

Ms. Fahlman, the floor’s residence fellow, said the lucky ones had been given the heads-up by their roommates that they’d be kicked out. The less fortunate had been subjected to the moans, groans and twin-mattress squeaks while they lay in horror a few metres away.

EW.  EW.  Once more – EW.

Who does that?  Who thinks that it is reasonable to do that?  Thank you Roommate, for never doing that to me.  Thank your for having respect for me and some common sense.

According to the G&M article, in the U.S. there has been actual administrative moves toward dealing with roommates and sex.  Roommate contracts and residence guidelines include rules against sex while a roommate is present.  Rules like this are frankly, upsetting.  If my university spelled that out for me, I would feel patronised – this is a stupid kind of common sense and reason rule that we can figure out ourselves, as adults.

Make your own reasonable, respectful rules, or you’ll have them imposed on you by residence administrators.  They are not your parents, and they don’t want to be.  Don’t act like a child.   That’s what it comes down to.  You’re in university – grow up.

Probing the merits of the third ‘Action Plan for Canadian women’

I’m a little confused; I thought “pink for girls” and “blue for boys” went fringe a while ago. Isn’t it supposed to be Tonka Trucks for little girls and Barbies for little boys now?

Well, nevermind. The Liberal Women’s Caucus has released their third (poorly titled) volume of recommendations to improve the lives of Canadian women.  The 38-page document outlines a series of Liberal policy positions on women’s health and safety, social equality and role in the economic sphere.  The ongoing premise is that “The situation for women is rapidly deteriorating under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government,” and a new federal Liberal government should consider the Caucus’s policy recommendations.

Though I take issue with some of the Pink Book policies and look dubiously toward its latent irony (but more about that later), I don’t want to minimize or undermine its theoretical relevance. That is, though I’m uncertain of the real benefits to be reaped by a women’s Pink Book, I fully respect the organized and productive expression by self-perceived marginalized groups. Therefore, I’ll dissect it, criticize it, and question its objectives, but I won’t call it irrelevant.

My feelings on the Pink Book are mixed. Sure, the idea of an action plan for Canadian women sounds nice, but I’m having trouble swallowing some of the spin. (And I’m not just talking about gallant claims like, “Under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, women are increasingly at risk for domestic abuse and violence.” I’ll leave that alone.) One tendency I find problematic is how many Canadian issues described in the pink pages are passed off as selectively women’s.

Finding a family doctor is “one of the major difficulties women face,” reads page 22. The need for a national care-giving strategy to provide relief for women is outlined on page 23. Page 25 recommends new programs to prevent and provide support for domestically abused women.

Here’s my question: how is a national doctor shortage a women’s issue? Perhaps women, more often than men, are the ones seeking out family doctors, but should we really put a gender focus on this problem? A national care-giving strategy—I’m totally for that. I’m sure husbands and fathers are too. What about male suffers of spousal abuse? Where’s the “Blue Book” on that? Many of the causes and recommendations in the Pink Book seem legitimate, but to label them all  “women’s issues” seems a little disingenuous. Why segregate, rather than unite, to tackle these issues?

Here’s my other issue with the Pink Book: it seems to dispute (albeit, inadvertently) my power as an autonomous female citizen. Take this example:

“Girls generally are not encouraged to enter hard sciences, technology or the trades,” reads page 21.

“The National Liberal Women’s Caucus therefore recommends that a new Liberal government develop a coordinated strategy and support mechanisms to encourage girls and women in science…”

Call my reasoning fallacious, but I can’t help but see the above “call for assistance” as a concession that girls and women can’t make it on their own. Think of it this way; fifty years ago, women were dropping out of universities to get married. Now, more women than men are applying to (and enrolling in) medical schools. If that change could happen without a “coordinated federal strategy,” why should the government be directly involved now? (Sorry, is my libertarianism showing?)

Personally, I don’t care much for an action plan written on my behalf with a flower printed on each page. Sure, women are disadvantaged, but so are men, children and seniors. Should women really be calling for special consideration? To be honest, I’m not really sure. But I do think that to be perceived as equals, women in government should present themselves as equals. And we “regular women” should continue to look critically at the ways we’re being represented. That means taking off the rose-coloured glasses.

Making the complicated science accessible to millions

Every once in a while my microbiology textbook shares a vaguely interesting fact that (almost) makes it worth reading. Like the fact that certain species of bacteria can be found 4,700 feet underground.

Sometimes my history textbook can be interesting. A Minoan palace that dates back to 1500 BCE featured indoor plumbing.

But there are absolutely no redeeming qualities to my Organic Chemistry textbook. Here are some of the organic molecules mentioned in the textbook:

1-Bromo-3-methylpentane

3-Methylpentylmagnesium bromide

N,N-Diethylethanamine

Those are real names. Seriously.

Another problem: some of the names are way too similar. Certain types of molecules are called “alkanes.” Some are called “alkenes.” Others are called “alkynes.” Then there are ethers and esters. Amines and amides.

Wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier if organic molecules were named the same way hurricanes are? As in “Chemical Bob” or “Chemical Irene”?

Of course, considering that there are tens of millions of organic molecules, we might start running out of names. Or at the very least, we might have to start using wimpy names. Like “Chemical Lawrence” or “Chemical Stuart.”

But there is an alternative. It’s a naming system that would be easy to learn and intuitive to use. Heck, it would transform Organic Chemistry. Instead of being universally hated, it would be an accessible and manageable course.

The new system: naming organic molecules after Pokemon.

It’s a tried-and-true method. For the past decade, millions of kids under the age of 12 have been able to memorize the names of thousands of Pokemon. And they can pronounce them perfectly, too. Why shouldn’t it work for Organic Chemistry?

There would be no such thing as “1,2-Dibromobenzene” or “1-Chloro-3-ethylbenzene.”Students wouldn’t have to learn names like “N-Phenylacetamide” or “1-(1,1-Dimethylethyl)-3-nitrobenzene.”

Instead, they would be memorizing “Charmander” and “Pikachu.”

Yup, easy peasy.

Not every student will be a doctor or a lawyer. But you know what? That’s okay.

Dear Parents,

I meet a lot of you each day, at university fairs, at QUIP visits, and in hallways. Every time we talk, there’s a mixture of emotions that runs over your faces. First, you evaluate me to see if I’m the kind of person you’d want your son or daughter to associate with. In assessing me, you assess the university I represent, and, if I make the cut – fingers crossed – you start asking questions. You usually want to know about our programs, our class sizes, how long it will take your student to get home, what our reputation is like…the list goes on.

But, behind all of that, these are the questions I think you really want answered. I’m not a parent, and this obviously isn’t a comprehensive list. But I think if we were honest with each other, these are the two of the questions you’d ask, and the responses I’d try to give you:

1. Will my son or daughter get a job?
   

• No matter which university your son or daughter chooses, there’s a good chance they will get a job. This country needs educated people to fill jobs that the knowledge economy will continue to create. I promise, no matter which university your child chooses, they will find gainful employment.

  But can I ask you one big favour?

  Don’t make them decide what that job will be just yet. The four years they spend in university will have immeasurable impact on their personality, their passions, and their priorities. They will love and lose, experience success and failure, and return home each holiday season full of new lessons and experiences. It is through those experiences that your child will decide the kind of person they want to become, and how they will make their impact on this world.

  I hate to break it to you, but not every student will be a doctor or a lawyer. But you know what? That’s okay. We need nurses and engineers. We need social workers and community leaders. Most importantly, we need people with open minds, who can face the challenges of the future. Please, give your child the chance to do that.

1. Will my child be “okay”?
   

• Well, that question is relative. Will your student face challenges in university? Absolutely. Those challenges will come inside and outside the classroom. They will come when you least expect it, and require split-second judgment. You know your child, and you know what they’re made of. You’ve instilled values in them since birth, and you should trust your instincts when they head off for the first time. Will they make mistakes? I sure did. But I learned from them, and so will they.

  We’ll take care of your child, and make sure that the services they need are readily available. But we look forward to the day when they no longer need our help. That’s how we’ll know that we’ve done a good job, building on the foundation you’ve left us

I’m not here to sell you something. It would be foolish for me to believe that my five-minute speech seals the deal on a $40,000 decision. Consider me a resource, and use me as such. I’ll answer anything you want to know in an honest way. I want to help your student make the right choice. If that means that they attend the university I represent…great! If not, that’s okay too. But be sure to ask the questions you want answers to. Nothing is silly, or redundant. I’m here to help you with this process, so please…ask the questions you really want answers to, and let me help.

Sincerely,

Mark

UBC hosts panel of young leaders at its second annual TEDxTerry Talks

Iris Amuto, Eric Ma, Jennifer Kaban, Tahira Ebrahim, Azim Wazeer: TEDxTerry Talks speakers

On Oct 3, UBC hosted more than 250 students and alumni to the second annual TEDxTerry Talks 2009, a UBC student conference that provides a platform for its young leaders to share innovative ideas and discuss personal projects they are passionate about. This year, the speakers were seven undergraduate students, one graduate student and a young alumnus.

TEDx, where the x = independently organized TED event, is a program initiated by the group widely known for their Ideas Worth Spreading Series of annual conferences and inspirational videos of invited speakers. TEDx is designed to provide an opportunity for anyone to self-organise and host an event that will bring people together to share in a TED-like experience.

TEDxTerry Talks (tag: TEDxTt) emerged out of the Terry Project, a collaborative initiative between the UBC Faculties of Arts and Science. Its key purpose is to educate primary undergraduate students about current global issues such as malaria, H1N1, and poverty through organising events and fostering conversations using social media such as Twitter, Facebook and their blogs.

Jennifer Gardy, alumnus speaker: “Public Health in the 21st Century: the Open-Source Outbreak”

Dr. Jennifer Gardy, an alumnus speaker at the event, is co-leading the new genome research lab at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). She is also known as “Nerd Girl” from her Globe and Mail blog of the same name. In her talk, Gardy shared how advances in technology have provided increased collaboration on scientific research and scholarly publications — what she labelled as public health 2.0.

For example, she showed how one publication had 36 authors. After leading the audience through the origins of H1N1, she stated how it only took five days from the sequencing of the virus to the first open-source paper. Gardy ended her talk emphasizing how students should be willing to explore the benefits of Open Access publications, collaborative research, and emerging technologies.

Via email, Maclean’s OnCampus asked Gardy, along with other speakers, about her pet project:

Q: What is the value of open-access (OA) publications? Are these types of publications being supported by scientists?

Gardy: OA publications have value because they remove access barriers to knowledge. To access anything more than an abstract of a scientific paper in the pre-OA days, someone who was interested in the paper either had to a) be affiliated with an institution that had a subscription to that journal (and then be able to access that subscription either online or by traveling to the library to see the print copy) or b) willing to pay the per-article charge, generally $30-$50, to be able to download or access that article.

This excluded all sorts of groups from being able to access information: researchers whose institutes don’t have enough money to pay for a subscription (e.g pretty much all of the developing world) and people who are interested in a topic but don’t have an institutional affiliation (e.g. a patient trying to do research into a rare disorder they have) are two of the most obvious groups, but there are others you wouldn’t think of it….OA removes all these headaches and barriers and lets anybody see a paper, taking knowledge out of the domain of just the ivory tower and giving back to the people.

Q:What was the role of open-access publications in the discovery of H1N1?

Gardy: As far as H1N1 goes, virtually all of the big, early papers on the virus were published in non-OA journals but the authors chose to pay the extra costs and make the articles freely available. Many other important papers were published in weekly online OA journals like Eurosurveillance and MMWR. Thus ANYBODY could access the most up-to-date knowledge and contribute to the investigation into the virus.

Also, the outbreak catalyzed the creation of PLoS Currents, an online OA “pre-journal” where authors can submit works in progress that are vetted a by a small team of experts but nor formally peer-reviewed, and which can then be published later once they are more developed. The first PLoS Currents site (there will be one site each for a range of topics) is on influenza research, and launched a few months back at www.ploscurrents.org/influenza. It’s a neat new model for scientific publishing.

Students allege awarding less funding than promised is a breach of contract

Erinn Michèle Treff had an A average when she applied to graduate programs in social work. Not surprisingly, she was accepted by four of the five universities she applied to. In considering her options, one university stood out: York University, which offered her significantly more funding than any other program.

“I don’t have a lot of money and I already have a significant OSAP loan,” Treff says, “so when I was offered a funding package for $14,000 first year and $10,000 second year, it seemed like a no-brainer.”

So imagine her surprise when a few weeks into her second year, rumours circulated that social work students wouldn’t receive their full funding package. Treff emailed her department head asking for clarification, but received no response. A few days later the rumours became reality when a meeting was called: the students must have misinterpreted their acceptance letters, the university said, and they would only be paid $6,600 because the second year only consists of two semesters instead of three.

With the surprise cut to the funding she expected, Treff doesn’t know how she will afford to get through the year. After paying tuition she, like other students affected, is left with about $2,000 for everything else. She doesn’t have time for an extra job because she is already working the equivalent of two part-time jobs as part of her program: as a graduate assistant at York (for which she is paid with the funding package York rolled back) and as an unpaid intern at the Ministry of the Attorney General. The result? She hasn’t yet bought any books because she can’t afford them.

“I was absolutely livid,” Treff says, who added that she had planned to apply for two PHD programs at York. “When this happened, I shredded my applications.” In an online petition started by Treff, her anger is mirrored by over 300 students and sympathizers who have signed in the past six days.

“The university admin should be ashamed,” one commenter Cameron Campbell wrote. “I will not be donating any money to the University when I become an alumni over actions such as this,” pledged Graham Potts. “My family will also be doing the same.”

The anger seems not only in response to this series of events, but attached to resentment that has been simmering under the surface since last year’s strike, which kept 45,000 students out of class for three months. “I will never let any of my family members ever to go to York. First the strike and now this?” wrote Arvinder Singh, adding his voice to a number of petitioners who interpreted the strike and this move as a sign that the university mistreats students.

Treff says that although the strike was horrible, she understood it was necessary and didn’t hold a grudge. “Having our promised money taken away is another story.” She blames the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the administration of the university—not her specific program. “I love my professors and I love my program,” she says. “But it’s such a shame to have such a wonderful program dirtied. It’s embarrassing.”

York University did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails before deadline.

Treff was “dumbfounded” when she was told students misunderstood funding levels promised in their acceptance letters. Other students echoed this sentiment. “There was no letter misinterpretation of any kind. Bottle [sic] line is a contract was breached and we deserve our PROMISED money!!” wrote petitioner Josie DiPlacito. Treff agrees that the acceptance letter constitutes a written contract, and she alleges that York is breaching that contract.

From viewing one of the relevant acceptance letters, it’s easy to understand the students’ frustration. The letter, signed by the dean and associate vice-president of the Faculty of Graduate Studies Dr. Douglas M. Peers, reads, “In recognition of your excellent academic record, York University will award you a minimum of $14,000 in Year One of your full-time master’s study, and at least $10,000 in Year Two of your full-time study, in the form of a tuition scholarship, teaching assistantship, research assistantship, or graduate assistantship.” There is no mention of funding being subject to the number of semesters in each year.

Students also lamented the decision because they have already informed the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) that they would receive $10,000 in funding this academic year, so they don’t qualify for student loans. “I am not eligible for OSAP becasue OSAP believes I will be recieving $10,000 of funding that was in my contract [sic],” wrote petitioner Amanda Rose. “I can no longer continue to pay my rent, food and necessities on my VISA!”

In addition to the online petition, social work students and sympathizers have launched a letter writing campaign. As of the evening of October 20, there had been no response from the Faculty of Graduate Studies. But in an email that summarized an October 20 meeting with students and administration in the faculty of social work, a student wrote that it appeared that the social work administration “has taken a turn and is now supporting us.” However, whether the funding is restored is up to administration in the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Both faculties will meet Monday, Oct. 26 to discuss the situation.