All Posts Tagged With: "UWO"

Campus fashion from Western University

Western University students know how to accessorize. Some keep it subtle—a scarf here, a crown of flowers there. Others aren’t afraid to wear Mustang purple from head-to-toe. Jessica Darmanin went to London, Ont. on homecoming weekend to snap these stylish students. To see what students are wearing at other universities, click here. Since she can’t make it to every campus, why not show us your fall fashion? Tweet your photo to @maconcampus or post it on our Facebook wall.

Researchers say meteorites fell over Selwyn, Ont.

Photo courtesy of the University of Western Ontario

Astronomers from the University of Western Ontario released a rare video Wednesday of a meteor falling from the sky just east of Toronto.

The footage was captured just after 6 p.m. on Monday evening by six video surveillance cameras belonging to Western’s Southern Ontario Meteor Network. The basketball-sized meteor was first spotted over Lake Erie and moved toward the north-northeast ending just south of the town of Selwyn, Ont., according to a news released from the university. Researchers say it likely sprinkled small meteorites over the area east of Selwyn near the eastern side of Upper Stony Lake.

Peter Brown, the director of Western’s Centre for Planetary and Space Exploration, says the occurrence is rare—only about a dozen meteorite falls have had their orbits measured by cameras. That’s why researchers at Western and the Royal Ontario Museum are interested in hearing from anyone who may witnessed or recorded the event or has found fallen meteorite fragments.

“Finding a meteorite from a fireball captured by video is equivalent to a planetary sample return mission,” Brown said in the news release. “We know where the object comes from in our solar system and can study it in the lab.”

Did you see the meteor? Contact Kimberly Tait at ktait@rom.on.ca

First school to distribute this way

The Richard Ivey School of Business has become the first major school to make its case studies available on iTunes where they can be downloaded onto smart-phones and tablets for $3.99 each, reports the Financial Times. The Top 50 business school, which is part of the University of Western Ontario, has already uploaded 500 cases and will publish 200 more each year. Paul Beamish, director of Ivey Publishing told FT that, “It supports our emphasis on making Ivey cases easily accessible to everyone.” Ivey is one of the world’s four largest publishers of case studies.

Groups linked to Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas to establish Chair in Islamic Studies

An Ontario college is being asked to turn down a $2-million donation that will fund a new Chair in Islamic Studies. Those opposed say that the groups donating the cash have obvious links to jihad and terrorism. But the principal of Huron College at the University of Western Ontario, who took the money, says she’s satisfied that the groups aren’t violent and that they won’t have any influence on courses or hiring.

The opponents, headed by London resident Rory Leishman, outlined their worries in a letter this week. They noted that the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), which donated some of the money, supports Hassan Al-Banna’s vision of Islam. Al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood, an Arab political group that has acted violently against those who don’t follow Islam and which has called for the “obliteration” of Israel. Wael Haddara, president of the MAC, told The Toronto Sun that his group is not violent, even though they “firmly believe that there is a tremendous amount of good in the writings, works and life of Al-Banna and the traditions of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

But it’s not just influence from the MAC that opponents are worried about. Half of the donation will come from the International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT), whose past leaders were supporters of the terrorist group Hamas, according to a U.S. Customs report. Temple University University in Philadelphia rejected a $1.5 million gift from the group in 2008 over concerns about its links to terrorism.

Trish Fulton, Acting Principal of Huron College, said that she is satisfied that there are no links to terrorism. “We have a due diligence process that — it includes a site visit, a review of tax returns and any other information available on the organization — and we follow that before we entertain any gift of a certain size or gift from individuals or organizations,” she told The Sun.

“Islamic studies is a legitimate subject for academic inquiry and we are very proud that this is the first chair of Islamic studies in a family of theology in Canada,” added Fulton. The petitioners say they aren’t arguing about the establishment of a chair, but who the school should taking money from.

Rappers allege “Errbody’s good lookin”

School pride at the University of Western Ontario has migrated from the backside of sweatpants and your boyfriend’s football jersey to video quickly gaining popularity on YouTube.

The video, called “White & Purple,” has been dubbed UWO’s “newest anthem” by producer Eddie Manuel and is making the rounds on students’ Facebook walls and emails circulated with the subject line “ZOMG.”

Starring Shayan, Nava40 and Dee Minaj, the video purports that the University of Western Ontario is superior to other institutions of higher education.  Supposedly “reppin’ the school where errbody’s good lookin,’” the performers make a series of allegations which include the fact that its “Ladies [are] blinged out with precious metals,” and “In class errbody’s wearin’ ripped jeans.” At several points throughout the video, students yell “F**k Queen’s” whilst flipping the bird to the camera. Ah, school spirit…

The best rhyme of the piece has to go to one young gentleman whose T-shirt suggests he has been “Fly Since 1985.” Surrounded by comrades on the Mustangs’ football field, he says “Booster Juice got more peeps than the bar / Glitch on WebCT—bonus marks!” Never before has academic misconduct been so fly.

In all seriousness though, great production value and annoyingly catchy. I hope and can’t wait for a Queen’s rebuttal.

Newspaper questions UWO’s campus police motives

One of Canada’s most recognizable publications for gay and lesbian news has raised the question of whether new motion detectors at the University of Western Ontario have been installed to clamp down on gay sex.

Xtra! released a story last week probing the motive behind installing motion sensors in washrooms at Western’s Thames Hall. According to the article, Western’s campus police, who wouldn’t respond to Xtra!’s interview requests, had the motion detectors installed in Thames Hall washrooms, allegedly to curb gay sex. The article cites anecdotal evidence from an anonymous source at the university, who says he was questioned by campus police about gay sex happening in mens washrooms. “The man said he told officers there was plenty of sex happening in public spaces among the heterosexual students as well,” the article reads, but “the police did not seem interested in this fact.”

A case of bigoted campus police trying to snuff homosexual ongoings in public places on campus? It’s not entirely impossible. But other than our mystery UWO worker’s account of police prejudice, there’s little to suggest that police are trying to single out homosexual sex in public places on campus. As any university student can (unfortunately) attest, public washrooms are, for some reason, a curious hotspot for campus diddling. So, unless Thames Hall motion detectors are equipped with some sort of wicked-revolutionary ‘gaydar,’ these extra security measures are likely to curtail anyone and everyone thinking of getting naughty in the public stalls.

Perhaps cracking down on sex in public places could be conceived as a deliberate attempt to curb gay sex on campus if you consider the idea that a public washroom can be a relatively “safe space” for a closeted student. Since it’s hard to engage in any sort of dorm room romp without your floormates or roommate noticing, a public bathroom, therefore,  can offer a discreet alternative. The option may be all the more appealing when considering the type of bullying to which gay students may be subject on campus, a problem which has gained media attention recently due to the string of suicides by gay youth in the U.S. The tragic case of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, who was recorded having sex with a man by his roommate in the dorm they shared, is just one example. Why risk public ridicule in the dorm, some students may think, when you can opt for the relative privacy of a public bathroom?

Of course, it’s all but mere speculation, but the idea that UWO campus police are deliberately trying to curb gay sex in public places is still a far-fetched one.  The bottom line is that the new security measures in Thames Hall washrooms effect everyone equally, regardless of police motives. Without any evidence, fishing for proof of a culture of intolerance only serves to create one.

Proving the law is ‘unconstitutional’ may not be so easy

Twenty-year-old University of Western Ontario student Kevin Wiener has challenged Ontario’s controversial new law, which prohibits drivers under 22 from consuming any alcohol before getting behind the wheel.

Wiener filed an application with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, telling the Toronto Star, “As a young person, I don’t feel it’s fair for the government (to do this).”

“The Charter (of Rights and Freedoms) prohibits discrimination based on age,” he said.

That’s very true. But the Charter also guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it “only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified.” That little line may upset Wiener’s battle. Though it may not be “fair,” the necessity of such an “infringement,” so to speak, can be easily justified.

Statistics show that drivers under 22 are simply more likely to be involved in fatal drinking and driving collisions than older drivers. Furthermore, age is not a static group; everyone is under 22 at some point, and some studies, such as one by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, show that brain development of an area inhibiting risky behaviour is not fully formed until 25. But of course, that’s academic mumbo-jumbo. Too bad that’s just what the Ontario Superior court loves to hear.

Now, there is a compelling argument for extending the ban to all new drivers, which frankly, may be a fairer move, but let’s be real; with an impending provincial election, better to place restrictions on a demographic with the poorest showing at the polls. But I digress.

Though Wiener certainly faces an uphill battle, at least he’s going about it the right way. Remember, if all else fails, write to the UN.

-Photo by DOliphant