All Posts Tagged With: "The Excalibur"

Student papers out questionable campaign practices

It seems that many Canadian universities each experience their own bout of political fervor and drama during student government elections.

Well, ‘tis the season for hopeful student politicians to hang posters, hand out pamphlets and make speeches in their respective student centres.

For some political hopefuls, like those vying for spots on Carleton University Students’ Association executive, last year’s elections didn’t exactly go smoothly.

After Carleton took the world stage under profound criticism for a badly worded motion to drop the infamous Shinerama frosh fundraiser, Carleton’s student population was looking for a government who better represented them. However, as is often the case with student elections, scandals and subsequent disqualifications plagued what was one of the school’s most anticipated political races.

In the end, the incumbent slate won out the president position, but now shares executive seats with one third of the opposing slate in what was a somewhat anti-climatic finish.

But for those who cared then and care now about what’s going on behind the scene, there is the student paper.

At York University, the Excalibur already has its nose in some potential issues with the newly announced chief returning officer. Casey Chu Cheong will serve again as the York Federation of Students CRO, who also filled this position last year. The YFS board of directors selected Chu Cheong by vote, facing no opponent to gain the title, the Excalibur reports.

As with many schools, the appointment of important election officials who face allegations of bias and friendly relations with current executives or running slates becomes a heated issue that carries throughout the election season. And it is likely, if you’re following the York election, this won’t be the last you hear about Chu Cheong.

Meanwhile, the Fulcrum, the University of Ottawa’s student paper, in a recent editorial, outlines some strange poster campaigning to encourage candidates to run in the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa. The “BE FAMOUS” posters look more suited to American Idol audition calls than to student government, and as the Fulcrum points out, perhaps the road to executive seats is all about the glamour, but maybe it should be about the responsibility these students find in office.

Remembering that students executives not only vie for a slice of the large executive pay pie, but also control hundreds of thousands of dollars in student funds, paid through tuition, these top spots come with a lot of power. While arguably many respectable, rule-abiding candidates have run, many of them have lost as a result of scandal or failed democracy.

While this isn’t the Hill, the results still affect often large student bodies, so for once, a fair student election at a Canada institution would be welcomed. I dare you.

- photo by Carol Browne

What are your student politicians up to on your campus? E-mail me at jenniferpagliaro[at]gmail[dot]com or leave a comment below.

Senior staff pass on trip to Saskatoon in order to serve York students

As many of you might know, most student journalists in the country are presently in Saskatoon attending the general conference of the Canadian University Press.

There is one paper that is a notable exception, which has only a small delegation and is without its editor-in-chief and senior news staff. The Excalibur, York University’s student newspaper, has left its key staff in Toronto in order to provide timely information to York students as the CUPE 3903 strike drags on.

The Excalibur has remembered who foots the bill for their operation and salaries. This can be contrasted to great affect with another organization (with a much larger budget) who took advantage of the strike to abandon York students for a junket to Ottawa.

York student journalist finds he can get an essay written for as little as $100. Writers claim to be grads of Harvard, Oxford; promise a “B”

You can sell your slightly-damaged futon to the highest bidder on Ebay–and use the money to pay the lowest bidder to write your university course essay, on Essaybay.com.

The web-based service is the latest spin on university cheating, offering custom-made, university-level essays. It works kind of like the tender process that businesses and government use for major contracts: Users post descriptions of the product they are looking for, and others respond with bids to produce the requested essay. Bidders state their price and their qualifications; the individual student decides which bidder they believe is most qualified, and entrust them essay to them.

As York University student journalist Flynn Daunt discovered, even a clearly ridiculous essay request brought multiple offers, at rock-bottom prices, from people claiming the highest qualifications. Flynn went on Essaybay.com and posted that he needed a 1,750 word essay, and had to earn at least a “B.” His topic: “America’s War on Mustaches.”

“Within a few days there were seven bids from writers claiming to be graduates from acclaimed schools such as Oxford and Harvard,” wrote Flynn in the Excalibur, York’s student paper. “The bids had a price range from just over $100 to about $400.”

Essaybay says, however, that it is not engaging in cheating. According to Jed Hallam, Essaybay’s public relations manager, the service is in fact improving the “custom essay industry” by “increasing the transparency of the process.” He says

“It is ridiculous to suggest that using our service as a study aid is cheating,” Hallam told the Excalibur, “and this suggestion is merely a way for universities and colleges to reflect blame for poor assessment methods.”

Right. Got it. All we really want to know is, how much would a paper taking this line of reasoning cost on EssayBay? “Student X requires an argumentative essay with the following title: ‘Putting your name on a paper you didn’t write is not cheating.’ Length: 2,000 words. Required Grade: A”