All Posts Tagged With: "Rodney Diverlus"
Ryerson Students’ Union blocks men’s issues group
Whatever happened to debate?
Anjana Rao, left, Argir Argirov and Sarah Santhosh tried to start a Men's Issues group (Stine Danielle)
The Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) takes issue with a men’s issues club. If it were not so serious, it would be laughable. An organization that collects hundreds of thousands of dollars in mandatory levies from Ryerson students is afraid of three students—two of them women—starting a men’s issues group.
Despite the constant rhetoric about diversity, equity and inclusion, the RSU cannot tolerate ideologies that run counter to its own. The irony of this patronizing attitude towards campus freedom is hard to miss. It’s as if the spirit of closed-minded religious dogma has jumped into bed with modern political correctness to prevent blasphemy against RSU ideological orthodoxy.
The principle is this: if you challenge official narrative, you don’t have the right to speak. But this is supposed to be a university—a place where we learn and debate in an open environment; where those we disagree with are challenged, not with censorship, but with other ideas. To agree to disagree and to respectfully debate—this is true tolerance.
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Democracy at UWO, hazing at Dal. & a Christian law school
What students are talking about today (January 17th)
Western U. (Jessica Darmanin)
1. Gloria Dickie, editor in chief of Western University’s The Gazette has written an editorial suggesting democracy on campus is under threat after the paper was told their office, which they have occupied since 1973, is being considered as the new site of a multi-faith space—a bigger priority according to the University Students’ Council. They’ve been offered a smaller space instead. She writes that the move comes after USC proposed cutting the paper’s budget, asked to sit in on editorial meetings and considered a ban on in-person interviews. Adam Fearnall, USC president, told National Post that, “on occasion, perhaps [The Gazette] is overdramatic.” But many journalists on Twitter have sided with the editor. “Got to hand it to this year’s USC. Previous editions almost never managed to become national laughing stocks. Aim high! Purple pride!” wrote UWO alumnus and Maclean’s columnist Paul Wells. It now looks like Dickie may get her way. After committing to further discussions, Fearnall told the Gazette on Wednesday: “I was pleased that we were able to make progress on these important issues. Students rely upon the Gazette and the USC to sustain a strong student voice.”
Continue reading Democracy at UWO, hazing at Dal. & a Christian law school
Tough times force more Ontario students to apply for aid
U of T has seen a 12 per cent increase in financial aid applications
The number of requests for student financial aid is on the rise in Ontario after a dismal economic year for young people, and university officials say it could be just the start of a flood of applicants that will wash over universities this fall.
“The messages we’re getting from students and their families is that the parents may have had full-time jobs in the early part of 2008, but things happened in 2009 and parents now have lower incomes this year,” said David Sidebottom, manager of financial aid services, admissions and awards at the University of Toronto, as he explained one reason for the increase.
The university has seen a 12 per cent increase in financial aid applications for the school year.
“Parents’ incomes have taken a hit in some cases,” said Sidebottom, who has been fielding calls from anxious students who’ve also struggled to find jobs to pay for their pricey education.
“Students have been having trouble finding full-time jobs going the whole summer,” said Sidebottom, adding that the municipal strike in Toronto also affected students relying on work with city run programs.
Ontario Student Assistance Program applications are up 5.7 per cent this year for colleges and 4.6 per cent for universities, said Patrick O’Jorman, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.
“It corresponds to the total number of applicants to schools,” said O’Jorman, who said university applications are also up five per cent.
Last week’s job report also painted a bleak picture for young people, showing a record student unemployment rate of 21 per cent in July.
For Rodney Diverlus, a 19-year-old student from Ryerson University, the challenge to find a summer job to pay his $5,500 tuition as a dance major was daunting and the choices were sparse.
Diverlus, who had worked for event planning organizations and NGOs in previous years, said he hoped to return to similar work, but his summer job became obsolete.
He said months of perusing job posting websites and following possible leads yielded scant results.
“There are moments where you get angry, and there are moments where you ask yourself could I have done more, but after applying for so many jobs, I don’t know,” said a frustrated Diverlus, who had no intention of applying for OSAP this year, but was forced to take out a student loan to pay for school.
