Our News Editor recounts his top moments on campus and in the Royal City
2018/19 has been an absurd news cycle, thankfully this list silences the white noise to recap how strongarm mandates and cultural awareness this year will continue to bleed into the next school year.
Municipal Elections – Cam Guthrie secures another four-year term
On Oct. 21, over 30,000 Guelphites voted in the municipal elections that won incumbent Cam Guthrie a second four-year term as mayor of Guelph. Guthrie won the vote by over 10,000 votes despite a scandal surrounding Guthrie campaigning with other councillors, a move that critics viewed as an attempt to consolidate power at the horseshoe. The election also featured Aggie Mlynarz, who ran against the previously unimposed Guthrie. The voter turnout disappointed, as it dipped from 43 to 37 per cent compared to the 2014 elections.
Freedom of Expression Policy mandated by Ontario Premier Doug Ford
In a move celebrated by supporters of free speech, Ford’s government mandated that every university draft and implement a Freedom of Expression Policy on Aug. 30, which can penalize students for shutting down speaking events. Critics argue that the mandate creates a space for hate speech on campus and gives speakers that espouse white nationalist ideology, Faith Goldy for instance, a platform on university campuses. The move followed the shutdown of a protest against Goldy on Laurier’s campus last spring.
The Ontarion shines a light on Orange Shirt Day
The Ontarion covered Orange Shirt Day to raise awareness of the event that hopes to raise the country’s consciousness of the atrocities and legacy of residential schools. The event began in 2013 by a residential school survivor Phyllis Jack Webstad who had her orange shirt stripped from her the first day she attended residential school. The date Sept. 30 was chosen as it was historically the date when children were forcefully taken from their families. Orange Shirt Day raise awareness about Canada’s history of cultural genocide and violent assimilation practices with Indigenous Nations.
Smoke-Free Campus Announced
The University of Guelph campus is slated to become smoke-free at the end of the winter semester. The initiative hopes to encourage employees and students to quit smoking, encourage students not to pick up the habit, and to protect people from second-hand smoke. Critics question the efficacy and consequences of the initiative and how it will be enforced. Students in residence and employees of the University will now have to leave campus for a cigarette despite short breaks and limited crosswalks on major streets surrounding campus.
The University of Guelph Says No to Divestment
On Jan. 23 the University of Guelph voted no to a call by student activist group Fossil Free Guelph to blanket divestment from the fossil fuel industry over the next five years. The Board of Governors did vote on reducing their portfolio’s carbon footprint by 10 per cent and will look for fund managers to help them fund more sustainably. Critics from Fossil Free Guelph, who came to the meeting 100 or more strong, believed the University is moving too slowly at making the industrial changes needed to reduce the effects of climate change.
Changes to OSAP and the Student Choice Initiative
On Jan. 18 the provincial government announced changes to campus policy that will see a reduction of tuition by 10 per cent over the next two years, while also cutting grants and the six-month grace period for interest on OSAP loans. The announcement also came with an option that will allow students to opt-out of funding they do not want to support, which may have devastating consequences for student services, operating budgets, and jobs on campus.
Angela Davis Speaks on Campus
Legendary activist and academic Angela Davis brought her Freedom is a Constant Struggle lecture to the University of Guelph on Feb. 26. Davis argued for a conception of history and freedom that is slow moving but persistent.
The Ontarion fights for survival with a successful referendum for an increase in student levy
After years of increasing overhead costs and reducing ad revenue, the student newspaper at the University of Guelph increased their student levy for the first time since 1982. The student levy will help the paper transition in an ever-changing media climate to a digital-forward medium while retaining a strong print-based presence. The referendum’s success has been shadowed by the Student Choice Initiative which, by separate polling numbers conducted by The Ontarion and OneClass, can see over 40 per cent of students opt-out of funding student newspapers. For more see pages 14 and 15 in this issue.
Gryphons Women’s Hockey wins National Championship
The Gryphons Women’s hockey team won their first national championship on Thursday, March 14 at the U Sports Championship held in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
“It’s so many emotions happening at once, disbelief, happiness, gratefulness, sadness [over the graduating seniors]. It’s really indescribable,” Head Coach Rachel Flanagan told The Ontarion.