Inside 6136 University Avenue

Happy Summer!

2007-05-16T09:45:00.000-03:00

The blog will be down for most of the summer, but look for a new and improved Inside this September when fall-term classes resume.

Good Journalism

2007-04-06T11:26:00.000-03:00

The Ryerson student newspaper "The Eyeopener" recently published a feature article investigating the Canadian Federation of Students, of which Ryerson is a member.

What's unique about this article isn't that it was written, or that it details the failures and foibles of the federation, what's unique is that it hasn't yet been pulled from the newspaper's website. Just about every time a student newspaper reports on the CFS in what can be seen as a negative way, they receive threats of legal action from the federation and are forced to rescind their reporting.

The Eyeopener did, in fact, receive a letter from CFS lawyers (which has been posted on The Eyeopener website) but the editors there are brave enough (or have sufficient financial and legal resources) to stand behind their reporting.

All of this has prompted Maclean's magazine to take a look at this continuing process of legal intimidation from the CFS and their attempts to silence the student press.

Thanks to the Eyeopener and Maclean's for standing up for a free press and a responsible student movement.

Charity Ball 2007, on Video

2007-03-25T20:17:00.000-03:00

Big thanks to Al from the band God Made Me Funky for sending this to me. Count the number of DSU Executives who rushed the stage and cast your vote for best dancer.

Federal Budget Highlights

2007-03-20T11:38:00.000-03:00

The following summary was prepared by the Policy and Research Officer at CASA.

Federal Budget, March 19, 2007

Excerpts from the Budget Speech

“There’s been a lot of talk about fiscal balance, Mr. Speaker. But what is it really about? It’s about better roads and renewed public transit. Better health care. Better-equipped universities. Cleaner oceans, rivers, lakes and air. Training, to help Canadians get the skills they need. It’s about building a better future for our country… So we’re taking action. Through this budget, we are delivering an historic plan worth over $39 billion in additional funding to restore fiscal balance in Canada.”

“Starting in 2007–08, we will put the Canada Social Transfer payments on an equal per capita cash basis to support post-secondary education, social assistance and social services equally in all provinces. We will increase the CST by $800 million for post-secondary education in 2008–09, and by 3 per cent per year afterwards. CST funding for post-secondary education will rise to $3.2 billion in 2008–09, a 40-per-cent increase—an additional $16 billion more invested in our future through the CST over seven years.”[1]

“Mr. Speaker, we recognized in Advantage Canada the need for a Knowledge Advantage, so that Canadians can compete more successfully in our modern, global economy. We set a bold goal—but an achievable one: to have the best-educated, most-skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. Actions we are taking today will help build that workforce tomorrow.

· First of all, we’re investing over $1.3 billion in new money for science and technology research.

· Secondly, we’re dramatically increasing financial support for post-secondary education.

· Third, we’re providing new funding for skills training. The result will be that any Canadian who needs training should be able to get training.

· Fourth, we’re providing the greatest number of scholarships ever granted to our graduate students through the Canada Graduate Scholarships program. These prestigious awards are worth $17,500 per year for master’s students, and $35,000 annually for doctoral students, for up to three years.”[2]

“ Mr. Speaker, we are not just funding scholarships. We are helping to create the next generation of leaders. Young Canadians who will make us proud, make Canada strong, and the world a better place through their achievements.

Finally, in addition to creating a future generation of leaders, we are also investing in leading research institutions. Budget 2007 sets aside the funding necessary to make that happen, and will help fund leading-edge institutions like the Life Sciences Research Institute in Nova Scotia, the National Optics Institute in Quebec, the Perimeter Institute in Ontario, the Canada School of Sustainable Energy in Alberta, and B.C.’s Brain Research Centre, among others.”

Items Relating to Post-secondary Education in Budget 2007

Earmarked Funding to Post-Secondary Education (PSE)

· A 40% increase to PSE funding – an additional funding of $800 million per year

· The funding for PSE will be earmarked within the Canada Social Transfer (CST)[3]

· The funding will begin in 2008–09, for provinces and territories to strengthen the quality and competitiveness of Canada’s post-secondary education system.

· Federal support will grow by 3 per cent every year thereafter.

· The government will be talking with provinces over the next year to determine how to implement the changes.

· Earmarked funding does not necessarily have built-in accountability measures

· The CST will be legislated to 2013–14, with an automatic 3-per-cent escalator, and be made more transparent.

Increased Funding to Graduate Student Scholarships

$35 million over two years and $27 million per year thereafter to support an additional 1,000 students through the Canada Graduate Scholarships. (via the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada)
Increase funding to the merit-based Canada Graduate Scholarships will provide some more opportunities for graduates student funding
Unfortunately this change will not help those students in accessing the post-secondary system at the undergraduate level, particularly for lower-income and first-generation

Review of Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP)

· A review of the CSLP aimed at modernizing and simplifying this important student financial assistance program.[4]

· The review aims to modernize the CSLP, however there are no details on how the government intends to improve CSLP and to make it more effective

Making Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) more attractive

· The Government of Canada helps parents to save for their children’s post-secondary education through registered education savings plans (RESPs), the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and the Canada Learning Bond. Each year, the Government provides about $600 million in tax and grant assistance to encourage saving in these plans.

· Eliminating the $4,000 limit on annual contributions.

· Increasing the lifetime RESP contribution limit from $42,000 to $50,000.

· Increasing the maximum Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) annual amount from $400 to $500.

· Part-time students will now be eligible to access up to $2,500 of their income and grants for each 13-week semester of study. Students will be required to spend at least 12 hours a month on courses, in a course lasting at least 3 consecutive weeks. (Currently, students can only access their RESP savings if they are enrolled in a program that involves at least 10 hours of classroom study per week.)

· This change will be effective for the 2007 tax year. It is estimated that these changes will cost $5 million in 2006–07, $15 million in 2007–08 and $20 million in 2008–09.

· Tax credits for savings programs do not effectively target those students that are in need, and do not improve access.

· Tax credits for RESPs and CESGs disproportionately benefit higher-income families - About 61% of children living in high income households had parents who were using RESPs plans to save, compared with 42% of children living in low-income households.

Support to International Students to Work in Canada after Graduation

· $34 million over two years to ensure that foreign students and skilled temporary workers already in Canada can meet health and security requirements to stay in Canada.

· Attracting and retaining skilled and experienced immigrants through improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the creation of a new avenue to immigration for Canadian-educated foreign students and experienced temporary foreign workers.

International Education Marketing

· Providing $2 million over the next two years to launch a new international education marketing campaign to attract talented students to Canada.

Research & Innovation

Providing $510 million to the Canada Foundation for Innovation to undertake another major competition before 2010. This will support the modernization of research infrastructure at Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and other non-profit research institutions.

Providing $120 million in 2006–07 to CANARIE Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that manages CA*net, a sophisticated research broadband network that links Canadian universities, research hospitals as well as other science facilities in other countries. This money will allow CANARIE to maintain the CA*net network for the next five years and to develop the next generation CA*net5.

Providing $10 million over the next two years to the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research to help Canadian students and researchers participate in and lead groundbreaking research on the international stage.

Providing $6 million in 2008–09 towards the relocation of Natural Resources Canada’s CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory to the McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton, Ontario.

Investing $85 million per year through the federal granting councils for research targeted on key priorities: health sciences, energy, the environment, information and communications technologies and management, business and finance.

Supporting leading Centres of Excellence in Commercialization and Research with an investment of $350 million over 2006–07 and the next two years.

Providing Genome Canada with an additional $100 million in 2006–07 to extend promising research projects and sustain funding for regional genome centres and related technology platforms.

Investing $30 million in The Rick Hansen Man in Motion Foundation in 2006–07 to translate research into practical benefits for Canadians living with spinal cord injuries.

Increased funding for the Indirect Costs of Research

· Providing an additional $15 million per year to cover the indirect costs of research, including the operating and maintenance of research facilities.

Increased Equalization Payments

· Equalization-receiving provinces will receive an additional $1.5 billion this year—an increase of $1.9 billion since we took office—to ensure all provinces can continue to invest in roads and infrastructure, post-secondary education and health care.

· For provinces receiving equalization payments, such as Quebec, this will help bolters base support to universities and colleges

Labour Market Training

· Providing $500 million per year starting in 2008–09 to provide labour market training to help people who are not eligible for employment-insurance-related training get the skills they need and employers want. Any Canadian who needs training will be able to get training.

Foreign Credential Recognition

· Creating the Foreign Credential Referral Office with a $13-million investment over two years.

Science and Technology Strategy

Creating a Knowledge Advantage requires a strong foundation in science and technology. Advantage Canada laid out an ambitious new direction for establishing scientific and technological leadership for Canada by building on existing strengths, focusing efforts in key areas where Canada can achieve global excellence, and better aligning research investments with the needs of businesses to make a real impact in the market.

In Advantage Canada, Canada’s New Government committed to:

Invest in research equipment and facilities in universities and colleges to compete with the best in the world.

Expose more students to private sector research challenges through internships and targeted collaborative research.

Maintain Canada’s G7 leadership in public sector research and development (R&D) investment.

Ensure that excellence is the primary criterion for government research support.

Focus on results and improved accountability by establishing clear objectives and improved results management for the granting councils and other research entities.

Consider transferring the management of some non-regulatory federal laboratories to universities.

Target new investments in R&D, including those through the granting councils, to areas where Canada has the potential to be a world leader such as energy, environmental technologies and health sciences.

Introduce competitive funding that levers investment by the private sector and other levels of government in large-scale, national scientific projects and commercialization partnerships.

Strengthen the links between universities, colleges and the private sector through mechanisms such as business-led Networks of Centres of Excellence to enhance the commercialization of Canadian ideas and knowledge.

Building on these directions, the Minister of Industry will shortly release a comprehensive and forward-looking science and technology strategy. The strategy will outline a multi-year framework for action.

The federal government already provides substantial assistance for science and innovation. This includes advanced research, the most up-to-date scientific infrastructure, access for Canadians to advanced skills training, and investments with the private sector to commercialize knowledge and convert it into economic gains. Chart 5.2 provides an overview of existing federal investments in these areas.

Chart 5.2
Federal Investments in Science and Technology


Research Support The federal government provides support for primary research at universities, colleges and hospitals to generate new knowledge and support the training of young Canadians. Federal departments and agencies also undertake scientific activities in support of their mandates. Projected federal investments in 2007–08 include: Funding for research through the granting councils: $1.4 billion. Funding for the indirect costs of research: $315 million. Funding for centres of excellence in commercialization and research: $270 million. Funding for genomics research through Genome Canada: $100 million. Federal laboratory research and development: $2.1 billion. Total research support: $4.3 billion.	Science Infrastructure The federal government helps fund leading-edge science infrastructure at Canadian universities, colleges and research hospitals, in recognition that research and training of the highest calibre requires the most advanced equipment and technologies. Projected federal investments in 2007–08 include: Support through the Canada Foundation for Innovation: $430 million. Linking Canadian researchers to each other and the world through the CAnet high-speed research network: $25 million. Funding for genomics science infrastructure through Genome Canada: $20 million. Total science infrastructure: $475 million.*



Advanced Skills and Training The federal government provides funding to attract and retain highly qualified personnel in Canada, and to enable young Canadians to acquire the advanced skills that prepare them for success in a knowledge-driven economy. Projected federal investments in 2007–08 include: Support for close to 2,000 research leaders at universities through the Canada Research Chairs: $275 million. Scholarships for Canada’s best students to pursue advanced studies through the prestigious Canada Graduate Scholarships: $120 million. Additional support for scholarships, fellowships, Chairs and awards for researchers from the granting councils: $460 million. Total advanced skills and training: $855 million.	Commercialization and Business R&D The federal government provides generous tax assistance, as well as direct funding support, to encourage companies to innovate and to undertake R&D in Canada. Projected federal investments in 2007–08 include: Tax assistance through the scientific research and experimental development tax credit: over $3.0 billion. University, business and government collaborative research through the Networks of Centres of Excellence: $82 million. Direct funding for business investments in R&D: $500 million. Total commercialization and business R&D: over $3.6 billion.

These investments have helped Canada become the G7 leader in public sector R&D. This leadership positions us for success by generating breakthrough new ideas and providing our young people with advanced training and experience. The private sector is well positioned to take advantage of this strong foundation by increasingly investing in science and technology to become more competitive. We will all benefit through a stronger economy, better jobs and improved products and services.

To build on our strengths while generating better results for Canadians, we need a new approach that is focused on creating real leadership for Canada while better harnessing our science and technology assets to meet our economic and social goals. Canada’s investments in science and technology will make an important contribution to achieving objectives under the Government’s ecoAction plan for a cleaner and healthier environment.

Budget 2007 puts in place significant new resources to begin implementing the Government’s new approach, which will be further outlined in the science and technology strategy. Budget measures will help sustain Canada’s G7 leadership in public primary research, target new investments in research to key areas where Canada can be a world leader, and align research investments with the real-world challenges of the private sector.

[1] Budget Speech 2007.

[2] Budget Speech 2007

[3] Federal Budget 2007, page 122

[4] Federal Budget 2007, page 124

Speaking of Transparency...

2007-03-08T11:31:00.000-04:00

I was rather shocked to find out that the salaries of all employees of Dalhousie University making over $50,000/year are posted online.

Gwynne Dyer at Dal

2007-03-08T11:13:00.000-04:00

On Monday the DSU, in partnership with the Kings' School of Journalism, hosted renowned international journalist and author Gwynne Dyer to for a discussion of climate change and global politics.

There was a great turnout for the event but if you missed it, it's worth your time to read Ryan McNutt's detailed review of the lecture.

Referendum on Student Space

2007-03-02T13:22:00.000-04:00

(The following is the personal opinion of Chad LeClair and Ezra Edelstein)

On March 6th the students of Dalhousie will be asked to vote on the future of the university. There has been a lot of discussion and debate over the advantages and/or disadvantages of the projects proposed. Some of these discussions have taken place in public arenas where facts have been emphasized and people on all sides have had an opportunity to be heard. Others have taken place in more one sided arenas such as Facebook groups where factual comments can be removed to make way for profanity- laced tirades without a shed of truth.

Recently, it has been very popular to bash the student union for not doing enough in regards to the referendum. I don’t know whether this is posturing for the upcoming elections or just a plague-like outbreak of misinformation and hypocrisy, but the reason is not important. I’m not writing to say that the student union has or hasn’t done enough because that in itself is very debatable, but I would like to tell you what we have done.

As mentioned we organized an opportunity for all students to come together and let there voices be heard by administration. Those of you who came to the Imagine ’07 event had the opportunity to speak directly to Tom Traves and have him hear your concerns. We have negotiated with the university on several issues to ensure that if the proposed spaces are created they will be used for the activities that students want. That includes everything from ensuring that there will be a new Gradhouse that is bigger and less expensive to run to making sure that room bookings in the new building will be handled by the student union, ensuring that they will be free to societies and easily accessible. We have attempted to ensure that students have the proper facts surrounding the projects and the proposed financing by sending out society news letters and setting up large displays in the SUB. We have also advocated to ensure that the buildings will be built ‘Green’ and that they will be universally accessible. In essence we have made certain that the concerns of Dalhousie students are the main focus of the design and operation of all new spaces. Lastly we are facilitating a referendum in which all students of Dalhousie will have the opportunity to make their voices heard by voting. The sad fact of this is that most students will not vote and many of those who do will have not taken the time to find out the facts, but instead will vote on misinformation.

Many people out there think that the student union hasn’t done enough because the university is running a campaign to get students to vote yes and we are not running a ‘No Campaign’ to counter it. I ask you, why would we spend thousands of dollars of student’s money to run a campaign against the university? Is it inconceivable that some students think that this project is a good idea? I know I certainly do. Disagreeing with something just for the sake of an argument is one of the major downfalls of our generation. Students who think that for one reason or another university administration are out to get them are looking at the world through a very cynical eye. The administrations goal is to increase enrollment. The way that they do that is by making the university appealing to incoming students and by keeping tuition as low as possible. Why is university so expensive here then? Because the government under-funds post-secondary education in Nova Scotia due to the fact that we are a net importer of students (if you want more information on that or would like to get involved contact Ezra Edelstein or Mike Tipping). Does the university want to screw students to try and make more money? No, it’s NOT a profit organization, they aren’t here to make money, they are here to make the university as good as possible and appealing to incoming students. It is up to us to work with them so that the name of Dalhousie can become more prominent and our degrees become more valuable every year.

It is a rare occasion when a university asks its students for input on how to improve campus, the university could have just raised tuition and gone ahead to build these structures. Instead of doing that our administration has given us the opportunity to get involved. They have guaranteed us equal representation on design and planning committees, meetings with architects, and public forms throughout the planning stages to give input and get updates. This is the first time I have heard of such an opportunity afforded to students. Unfortunately those that spend their days advocating that the world would be a better place if we could all work together, have a difficult time following their own advice. This project, if done successfully, could mean a change in the way universities across Canada view the student population. Let’s not screw it up.

New DSU Website

2007-02-26T21:13:00.001-04:00

Today, the DSU launched a new version of www.dsu.ca. Rather than outsourcing the creation of a new site to an external organization, the DSU employed the ACM (a student society) and Andrew Shouldice (a computer science student) to develop and design the new website. We’ve worked long and hard on creating a student-friendly site with improved functionality, up-to-date information, and a sleek new look. A union for students, by students.

Finance Canada Consultation

2007-02-21T11:25:00.000-04:00

The Federal Department of Finance is conducting another highly unpublicized consultation with a small window for submissions. This is a pre-budget consultation open to all Canadians. Both our provincial lobby group ANSSA and our federal lobby group CASA will be submitting a response that focuses on funding the postsecondary education system in Canada.

Teaching Award Nominations

2007-02-19T20:29:00.000-04:00

The end of this week marks the deadline for submitting nominations for outstanding Dalhousie professors who deserve to win a coveted DSU Teaching Award.

To nominate a prof, find a form online here, fill it out and turn it in to the DSU offices (hard copies are also available). The ceremony will be held on March 13th at 7pm.

CBIE Survey of International Students

2007-02-18T12:02:00.000-04:00

The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) is asking international students (in their final year of study) and graduates to participate in a web-survey on ‘International Graduates and the Canadian Labour Market’. International students are increasing seen as an “untapped” resource for Canada, especially as it works to meet the labour challenges of today and those just on the horizon. This CBIE survey is a great opportunity for international students have their voice heard by decision- makers both nationally and provincially.

The survey is open until Wednesday, February 28, 2007 and should take about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

Tuition Part II

2007-02-15T13:34:00.000-04:00

It seems that all the CFS's Day of Action has done is bring out a bunch of really good arguments about why reducing tuition across the board is a bad idea. Check out these two post here and here by Stephen Gordon an economics profesor at l'Université Laval in Quebec City. Margaret Wente also discusses the issue in the Globe and Mail today. Her column is only available online to subscribers, but it is worth picking up a hard copy.

Elections Committee Blog

2007-02-14T13:03:00.000-04:00

The DSU Elelctions committee has set up a blog for this years elections. If you need info on running, or want the behind the scenes look at what the committee is up to check it out here.

DSU Now - February 12th

2007-02-14T08:23:00.000-04:00

Subscribe to podcast

Partnerships Press Conference

2007-02-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday, our provincial (ANSSA) and federal (CASA) lobby groups participated in a press conference with six other education lobby groups across the country (NBSA, CSA, ACTISEC, CAUS, OUSA, and GSAC). The press conference was held in the Ontario legislature around this document (en Français).

Media coverage can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

This was also covered on the postsecondary education blog

Tuition

2007-02-13T09:58:00.000-04:00

These two letters in the Globe and Mail here and here were posted on Dale Kirby’s Postsecondary Education blog last week. These two letter demonstrate how complicated the whole issue of tuition fees in Canada really is. It is very clear that tuition fees are not the sole barrier to a postsecondary education. For example, look at tuition fees and participation rates in Quebec and Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia has the highest tuition fees in the country, but we also have one of the highest participation rates (33%), as opposed to Quebec which has the lowest tuition fees and one of the lowest participation rates (20%). One can also look at the fact, that although Nova Scotia has the highest tuition fees students from other provinces flock to this provinces to go to university. I don't know why this is, but it definitely cannot be because we are the most expensive. Stats Can has also released a study that looks at factors besides tuition that affect access to postsecondary education.

What is the point of all this? I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that simply reducing or eliminating tuition in Canada will not solve the problem of getting students from traditionally underrepresented groups, or low income backgrounds into our postsecondary education system. There is no doubt that Nova Scotia needs to get its fees in line with the rest of the country, but the bigger question for me is what we do once we get there.

PSE on CBC

2007-02-12T09:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, CBC Radio's Cross Country Checkup with Rex Murphy devoted its two-hour show to the issue of post-secondary education funding. One of the guests by phone was DSU President Ezra Edelstein who also serves as chair of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. You can listen to a clip of Ezra and Rex discussing PSE by clicking on the link below or you can check out the whole show here.

Ezra on CBC Radio (.mp3 - 5 minutes)

This audio file is also available through the DSU Podcast.

Anna Nicole Smith (1967-2007)

2007-02-08T22:30:00.000-04:00

2 Audio Clips

2007-02-08T11:47:00.000-04:00

I recently appeared on the NSPIRG radio show on CKDU to discuss education policy and student activism within our student lobby groups CASA and ANSSA as well as the student space referendum.

In the first clip, what I thought would be a friendly discussion turns into a debate with Ian Boyko, a three-time national chairperson of CFS (2001-2004) and now a staff member at their Ottawa office.

A couple things I'd like to note for clarification: not only is the Acadia Student Union not a member of CFS as is stated in this broadcast, but the President and Vice President Academic of the ASU chair CASA's campaign and policy committees, respectively. The ASU VPA is also treasurer of ANSSA.

It's not worth my time to point out all the problems with the CFS and you'll notice in this interview I stay positive and talk about ways we can work together. If you'd like more information about the tactics and practices of the CFS I recommend checking out the studentunion.ca weblog and watching this series of investigative reports conducted by Global TV on alleged corruption within the CFS.

Finally, I mentioned the fact that CFS spent almost $300,000 on legal action with student unions last year, most of which is related to the TravelCuts lawsuit that CFS lost. The entire yearly budget for CASA is around $500,000. It boggles the mind how much students pay to CFS and what they spend that money on.

As I mentioned on-air, all CASA and ANSSA policies are available online.

Clip 1 (.mp3 - 32 minutes)

In the second clip, Emma and I discuss the new student space plan proposed by the university. There have been some interesting recent developments in this area. Because of the DSU's Imagine '07 consultative process, the University has updated its plan to acknowledge student concerns. This includes the creation of a new Grad House across the street from the current building.

Last night, the DSU council declined to officially support either side of the referendum. The vote will take place on March 6th and 7th.

Clip 2 (.mp3 - 7 minutes)

These clips have also been added to the DSU podcast. You can subscribe here.

Rich Student Poor Student - Post #4

2007-02-07T19:44:00.000-04:00

Step 4: Be thrifty

This is an obvious one, and most students are really good at it, far better than I am. But there are a couple of things that I know about which I would like to pass on. Of course everyone knows about the staples of thrift, like: Value Village, Frenchy’s, and the Sunday Flea Market. Those of you that check your Dal E-mail account should also know about the Dump and Run that is put on by CESR in partnership with the university. This is an event where students drop off items that they don’t want to take with them when they move at the end of the year and they are sold in a large flea market. This can be a great place to pick up cheap furniture. Also there are a couple of good websites, like: Criag’s list and Bargainhunter.ca.

There are other ways to save a few bucks while in school. The DSU offers things like free use of Quicktax for doing your taxes online (this is only available to students that make under $20,000), and free legal aid, free room rentals for societies, and a food bank. You can go to the offices on the second floor of the SUB to find out about all the services that we provide.

Another way to save money is to hit up the power hours. Let’s face it, a large amount of a budget can be eaten up by extra-curricular activities. You need to make sure that when having fun you don’t go too crazy. A good idea is to take cash out with you and leave your bank and credit cards at home. Alcohol and a credit card can be your worst enemy. Also go to the places where the drinks are cheap. Most bars have a difference of 50-100% in price from discount prices to regular prices. One anomaly to this is a campus bar. Our two bars have two power hours a night when open (Wed. – Fri.) and also have food specials. At the Grawood for example you can get a burger, fries, and a draft for $4.95+tax. Usually you can find out when drink specials are by going on a bars website, if they don’t have one then just give them a call.

I know that the things I’ve mentioned here aren’t going to be ground breaking revelations to most of you. The point that I am trying to get at is that there are a lot of different ways that you can save money while at school, and you should do your best to take advantage of them. This doesn’t mean that you have to live off Kraft dinner and wear tattered clothing, I’m a fan of living comfortably. But really, do you need a new Ipod right now?

Please, those of you that have ways to save money while in school, send me some suggestions and I will update this to let people know what you have said. If everyone gives one good way to save money we will all be a little richer.

School's Out for Skiing!

2007-02-03T18:05:00.000-04:00

Almost 400 Dal students spent their Munroe Day on the slopes of Wentworth this past February 2 - and one Dal student, that's me, split time between hanging out in front of the fire in the chalet and taking pictures in the cold every hour or so. Here are some of the hits:

Fantasy Congress

2007-01-31T12:53:00.000-04:00

I have always been into what some call "extreme sports." Oh wait, no I haven't. I'd much rather sit at a computer and play fantasy sports or read about politics. Now I can do both at once with Fantasy Congress.

If you'd like to join in the fun, visit www.fantasycongress.com and search for the "Halifax DC" league. Email me at dsuvped@dal.ca for the password. The first draft round closes tomorrow.

DSU Now - January 29th

2007-01-31T12:35:00.000-04:00

Click below or subscribe to the podcast to hear the latest from Chris McCluskey and his crew at CKDU. In this show, DSU President Ezra Edelstein discusses the Imagine '07 process and the fate of the Gradhouse.

Subscribe to Podcast

Kite Surfing

2007-01-31T11:55:00.000-04:00

I have always been into what some call "extreme sports." Whitewater kayaking, climbing, and most recently kite surfing. Kite surfing is a fairly new sport and involves you harnessing yourself to a very large kite (12 - 20 square meters), strapping a wake board on your feet, and taking off. Usually that doesn't mean literally, but whoever had the joy of the ride in this video wasn't quite clear on that point.

DSU Now - January 22nd

2007-01-23T09:57:00.000-04:00

Subscribe to podcast

It's Up and Coming

2007-01-21T23:07:00.000-04:00

A look at the next few weeks, and they're characteristically busy ones. A participation rate above 10 of the below (particularly those listed under DSU Events, and most specifically Imagine DSU) gets a free ice cream.

DSU EVENTS
Jan 27: Charity Ball '07 (in support of CANFAR) feat. DJ Brian Chaput and God Made Me Funky @ McInnes Room. 7PM. $25.
Jan 31: Imagine DSU @ McInnes Room. 4-6:30PM. Free.
Feb 2: Munro Day Ski Trip @ Ski Wentworth. Tickets on Sale Wednesday at the Info Desk!
Feb 4: Super Bowl XLI Party @ The Grawood. 6PM. Free.

TUESDAY ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC
*Every week at 6PM on the SUB Coffeehouse stage. Email dsu.coffeehouse@hotmail.com for more information, or pop by to relax or perform!

GRAWOOD WEDNESDAYS (LIVE MUSIC)
Jan 24: Grand Theft Bus + The Sleepless Nights. 9PM. $2.
Jan 31: Paul Murphy (Wintersleep), Jon Samuel (Contrived/Ancients) & Guests. 9PM. $3.
Feb 7: DJ Night & Guitar Heroes II Competition. 9PM. $2.

GRAWOOD THURSDAYS (TRIVIA & MELLOTONES)
Trivia every Thursday! 7PM. Free.
The Mellotones every Thursday! 9PM. $4.

GRAWOOD FRIDAYS (SOCIETY NIGHTS, OPEN TO ALL STUDENTS)
Jan 19: INDISA
Jan 26: Baywatch Night! with Andru Branch & Halfway Tree
Feb 9: Commerce Society

GRAWOOD FILM SCREENINGS
Every Friday at Noon & 5PM!

Jan 26: The Departed
Feb 1 (THURSDAY): Babel
Feb 9: Borat - The Movie

THE T-ROOM (SEXTON CAMPUS)
Thursdays: Live music! (This week: The Wild with Seth Anderson)
Fridays: Trivia!
Saturdays: Society Nights!

Podcast!

2007-01-15T18:47:00.000-04:00

On the right you should now see a link to subscribe to the DSU Now podcast, which will stream episodes of the weekly radio show DSU Now hosted on CKDU by VP Student Life Chris McCluskey. You can also click below to listen to this week's show.

Christmas Comes Late for Medical Residents

2007-01-12T12:23:00.000-04:00

Last Monday the NS Legislature started a special winter sitting to talk about Bill 117, a bill that would change the rules on campaign financing. Of course, media coverage of this controversial bill has been all but non-existent with the constant front page stories of Minister Fage's pre-Christmas fender-bender.

Bill 117 limits contributions to political parties from unions and corporations to $5000, something that the NDP claims disproportionately benefits the Conservatives, and it allows the ethically murky trust fund of the NS Liberals to be used for certain purposes. When the bill was introduced in the fall, the NDP filibustered it calling it a Liberal-Conservative attack, and questioned the timing of the bill, coming only a few months after the NDP had their most successful election year ever.

I am sure you are wondering what this has to do with medical students doing their residency. Well, last night the NDP agreed to cut their filibustering short and allow a vote on Bill 117 as long as the Conservatives agreed to pass a bill during the spring sitting of the legislature that would exempt medical students from having to pay back their student loans during their residency.

This is a huge victory for the Dalhousie Medical Student Society (DMSS), the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA), and the DSU, and the most amazing thing about it is that out of all the things the NDP could have chosen to negotiate on they chose this one. Thank you for putting students ahead of politics.

TigerBooks.ca

2007-01-10T11:08:00.000-04:00

Are you in the process of buying another several hundred dollars worth of textbooks for the winter semester? Do you have a stack of books from last year that you no longer need?

Be sure to check out the DSU's online used book exchange at TigerBooks.ca.

Stephen Lewis Speaks at DAL on Jan 16!

2007-01-05T21:19:00.000-04:00

Stephen Lewis, recently honored with a Dalhousie honorary degree, returns to campus on January 16. A handful of tickets remain (as of now) and are available in the DSU Executive offices in the SUB!

East by... Even Further East...

2007-01-04T18:53:00.000-04:00

Six Dalhousie students were among approximately 25 student leaders from across the country who participated in an all-inclusive trip to Israel from December 15 to 23 - which was not in any way paid for by the DSU. Throughout our stay, we toured the region and developed impressions as to the challenges for peace in the Middle East. Politicians were met with, journalists were questioned and holy sites were photographed. Here are some pics. If you were wondering if there are more on Facebook - you guessed correctly.

Katie McDonald and Mahdi Shams with an Israeli politician who accompanied us on our travels.

Daniel Boyle looks on with the shades at the retaining wall between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Jason Pelley and Jess Maga pose with students on the trip.

Chris (that's me). Mt of Beattitudes on the Sea of Galilee.

Spot the DAL students. In front of the Dome of the Rock, Mt of Olives in the background.

Happy Holidays

2006-12-19T00:53:00.000-04:00

Have a great break. We'll be back on January 3rd.

Rich Student, Poor Student – Post #4

2006-12-14T11:49:00.000-04:00

Step 4: Be thrifty

Let’s get this out there right away, being thrifty does not mean being cheap. A cheap person will sit at the bar with friends all night and avoid their turn to buy a round. A thrifty person will do their best to make sure they buy their round during power hour, but they will still buy the round. There is a fine line between saving money and losing friends.

It’s difficult to tell people how to be thrifty because everyone has different ways of saving money. The most important thing is that you are aware of what you are spending and of what that money is worth. The best way to do this is to make comparisons when you buy things. Ex. If you see a pair of shoes that you want to buy and they are $100, ask yourself what else you could buy with that $100. If you don’t really need the shoes then you might realize that you would be better off using the $100 to buy groceries or save for a vacation. Some people save money by making their own clothes, bringing lunches from home, shopping at thrift stores or not buying text books (the last one isn’t recommended), but it all comes down to what you are capable of doing and how much energy you put into it.

Some places you should know about if you are trying to save money:

Value Village – Bayer’s Lake/Dartmouth
This is not only a good place to get clothes but also good for furniture. There are a couple of bus routes that will take you right to Value Village but there is also the possibility of getting the Student Union to rent a bus if enough students want to go.

The Grawood – Student Union Building
I don’t know if you have realized this yet but from 9-10 and 11-12 Wed. – Fri. The Grawood is the thriftiest place in town.

Winners – Halifax Shopping Center Annex/Bayer’s Lake
Hop on the #1 or #14 buses and they will take you right to Winners. If you like to save money when you shop but don’t like wearing clothes that were owned by other people then this is your Value Village.

XS Cargo – Bayer’s Lake
If you’re a shopaholic that that likes to buy things you will never use (autobiographical sentence), but only if it’s on sale, then you should head to XS Cargo.

Walmart – Halifax Shopping Center Annex/Bayer’s Lake
Once again the #1 or #14 will get you there. This is the cheapest place to get stuff for the home (with the occasional exception for Canadian Tire), and it’s not all bad quality. You can’t beat buying an iron for $5.

Of course this doesn’t even come close to mentioning all the great thrift stores, and other places that you can go to get stuff on sale. It also doesn’t give even a fraction of the ways to save money. The one thing that you will hopefully get out of this though is that you should be conscious of how much you are spending and what that is worth, and you should always look for a bargain. If you have any good places to shop for deals then please post them for people to see.

If I was a cow today, I would be one of these cows.

2006-12-12T17:00:00.000-04:00

Today I wrote my last exam, well really it was my first and last exam as I am only taking one class right now, but that is besides the point. What I really want to talk about is cattle. It has always struck me while standing in front of the Dalplex with 200 of my peers waiting anxiously for the doors to open so we can file into our neatly arranged seats, how similar we are to cattle being led to slaughter. Each one of us makes our way up the walk way, pressed shoulder to shoulder while shuffling our feet, and then single file, we pass through the revolving doors with the hiss of escaping air. Then the sensation of ears popping from the pressure inside the field house where we each find a stall for the next three hours of our lives. Our herder is not a cowboy with his whip, but instead we are forced in by the cold December air, and 0ur own personal quest for knowledge. We are herded in by the possibility that we might find the answer to what we are going to do with the rest of our lives. However our slaughter differs from the cattle, it is not a bullet to the head, but a civil academic affair involving a pen and paper. All that stands between us and the supermarket shelf is the "knowledge" that we were able to cram into our heads while staying awake on coffee the night before. But what gets me every time I find myself waiting to file into the field house is that unlike cattle we made the choice to be standing in that herd and filing up that walk way. Of course, most of the year I would not be comparing myself to a cow, but that is what a couple of sleepless weeks at the end of term will do to a person.

Dal Blogs: Planet Dal CS

2006-12-11T13:59:00.000-04:00

One of the things we'll be doing with this space is highlighting some weblogs written by Dalhousie students. What better place to start than with the Faculty of Computer Science's weblog aggregator Planet Dal CS, described as "a window into the hearts, minds, and possibly a few other body parts of the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Dalhousie Computer Science."

Read about living in Halifax, learning at Dalhousie, and how to stop your AMD64 binary Xen kernel packages from panicking on boot. I have no idea what that means.

Check it.

Interest What?

2006-12-08T10:27:00.000-04:00

In a previous post I mentioned that most students don’t know about interest relief on their student loans and therefore do not end up using it. On that post we got a comment confirming that problem. Here is all that you need to know to get the most out of the Student Loan System.

When you get a student loan through your provincial student loan program, a portion of that loan is from the federal government (Canada Student Loan Program) and a portion of it is from your provinces of residence (e.g. Nova Scotia Student Loan Program). To make it even more complicated, some provinces such as Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland have an integrated loan that is fully administered by the National Student Loan Service Centre (NSLSC) once you enter the repayment period. If your loan is not integrated, the NSLSC only administers the Canada Student Loan portion of loan. All this means you really have to confirm any advice that I give in this post with the regulations for your province. You can do that be checking out the CanLearn website.

Interest relief allows you to defer the payments on your loan, six months at a time, for up to thirty-six months. During the interest relief period, the government pays the interest on your loan until you no longer qualify at which point you must start repaying your loan (interest and principle). To see you if qualify for interest relief contact the NSLSC at 1-888-815-4514. They will ask you a number of questions such as how much money you make and if you have any dependents and provide you with a preliminary assessment as to whether you qualify or not. If you do, they will send you some forms to fill out and you will have to provide proof of your income, dependents, ect. You can find all of the debt management measures for Nova Scotia here.

One of the biggest problems with the repayment period of student loans in Canada is that if you don't qualify for interest relief, or have used up your thirty six months of interest relief you have to start repaying your loan. It doesn't matter if you are not making enough money to start repaying your loan or even if you have a job or not. If your loan is $24,000 you will have to pay around $320 a month. Last January, the Nova Scotia Department of Education announced that they would be creating a program they called the Repayment Assistance Program (RAP) which would address this problem. This program would compliment the interest relief program, but only on the Nova Scotia portion of your student loan. Let's say that the threshold for a student with no dependents to qualify for interest relief is that they have to be making less than $1200 a month. If you made between $1200 and $2000 a month (again just hypothetical numbers) RAP would kick in. This means that between $1200 and $2000 a month the amount of money that you would have to repay would be calculated on a graduated scale depending on the amount of money that you make. The real bonus to this program is that during RAP, the government would still pay your interest, so any money that you pay would go towards decrease the principal of your loan. Of course, we have not been able to confirm the status of this program, or its start date.

Rich Student, Poor Student - Post #3

2006-12-06T23:13:00.000-04:00

Before I start with tip #3 I would like to ask any of you out there that feel you have some good advice for students when it comes to saving money to write a comment and I will read it and include it in the tips. I admit that I don’t have all the advice that there is and some of you would have vastly different experience, and therefore some different advice, so please let me know. If you don’t have any advice then feel free to read along or write on your own Blog about how I don’t know what I am talking about and that the advice of “Invest Your Student Loan” is bad (even though I haven’t written that part yet).

Step 3: Milk the system

Take advantage of any little bit of money that you can get your hands on. If there is a chance that you could get a grant, bursary, scholarship, or student loan, then take it. I know what you might be thinking – I don’t have good enough grades to get those things – but you have to remember that not all of these are given out based on grades. There are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind when trying to get your hands on this money, so I will lay it out by category.

Grants/Bursaries – A grant (or bursary) is essentially money that you get for free. There are a number of different ways to get grants, places to get them from, and reasons to apply for them. Of course the main reason to get a grant would be that you need help with tuition. The university has needs based grants that are awarded through the registrar’s office twice a year. Other grants (such as the Millennium Scholarships) are given out by the government and the way that you apply is by getting a student loan. In fact the only way that you can usually get any sort of grant or bursary is if you have applied for a government student loan every year that you have been in school. You can find the application forms for these grants online. Another reason that you could apply for a grant is to go on a conference or attend an event that is pertinent to your academic field of study. These grants are awarded by the student union and also by you’re A level society. Generally the amount that you can apply for is not that much ($100 from the DSU) but every little bit helps.

Student Loans – As mentioned in the Grants/Bursaries section it is to your advantage to apply for a student loan every year that you are in school, if just for the fact that you are then eligible to apply for more bursaries and grants. Another reason that you should be applying for a student loan every year is that the loans have 0% interest until you are out of school, that is free money. I challenge you to get a loan from the bank for that level of interest. Later on in the tip about investing your student loan I will point out why it is important to get a student loan even if you don’t need one. The main thing you need to realize is that just because you get a student loan doesn’t mean you have to spend all of it, if you don’t need it, don’t spend it. In my first year I somehow burned through an $8000 student loan and I am regretting it now.

Scholarships – Everyone knows what a scholarship is, but a lot of people think their grades are too low to apply. If you have extracurricular activities, are a minority, have a disability, or are from a certain geographical area you could get a scholarship based on that, and there are a number of other distinguishing factors that could come into play. I am not saying that there is a scholarship that you will get just because you are disabled, or are from the North End of Halifax and have Irish decent, but it could help. Apply for everything and just cross your fingers, you would be surprised how many scholarships people don’t apply for.

I’m sure there are some things that I am missing here, and I know I didn’t go too in depth. If you have any more ways to ‘Milk the System’ then please comment on this post and let everyone know. I would encourage everyone to look online for information on the Canada Student Loans program and be informed about their provincial loans and also to look on Dal’s website for more information on Grants and Bursaries.

Tuning Your Bull Shit Barometer

2006-12-04T12:27:00.000-04:00

First, let me make one thing clear – I’m not an avid blogger. I don’t have any particular beef against those who are. Rather, I’m quite fond of the many blogs that share my spare time. As my roommate and co-workers will attest, I pander to Student Union tittle-tattle, Canada’s political scandals and, most importantly, Grey’s Anatomy (America’s Next Top Model is a close second). The list of self-interests goes on but I wouldn’t want to out myself as a die hard Oprah fan so I will stop with the above three.

As the VP Internal, I have the thrilling task of being the Chief Communications Officer of the Union. The DSU Executive work hard at putting out consistent and informative communications to our members and community stakeholders. Occasionally, we misstep and fall victim to student reprimand. I wholeheartedly believe that this blog will only perpetuate our communication blunders. Inside 6136 University Avenue will provide students with a personalized look into their Student Union by their elected student representatives. For this reason, I’ve jumped on the blog band wagon.

The irresponsibly warm weather on the east coast has conjured up the familiar summer time scent of crap. Actually, I’m not sure if global warming is to blame or the past US elections, the recent Liberal Leadership race, the looming Dalhousie Student Union elections or the foreseeable Federal one. Most likely, all of the above. Either way, we’re constantly being served a Big Stop-sized portion of bull shit, hereafter referred to as ‘BS’. A side not if you will… when reading this post I encourage you to read ‘BS’ as ‘bull shit’. Sound it out. You’ll have way more fun if you do (at least I did). While each exec has their own interests and I can only assume will post accordingly, I will be here to fine-tune your BS barometer. If there is a pressing issue on campus that you want addressed I invite you to email me your questions and thoughts. I only promise one thing: my weekly responses will be both subjective and biased – I will not glaze my responses with a spin-doctoring/media-manipulation/image-management frosting. If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to call this series of postings “Ask Chris Ide – tuning your BS barometer”. Let's begin.

Dear Chris Ide: When hosting a Society Grawood Night we were asking for a $3 cover charge from all attendees. The proceeds were going to a great cause (which will remain nameless to maintain anonymity). Some individuals approached demanding that they get in for free because they are Varsity Athletes. To which I responded, “at Dal?” Why do Dalhousie “Varsity Athletes” receive such courtesy’s from the DSU? I call BS. Sincerely, a concerned academic student.

Dear Academia,

Yes, BS, I agree. First, Dalhousie does have a Varsity Athletics program. Don’t laugh. Upon further inspection you’ll find that we kick ass in several areas. Which ones? I’m not entirely sure but Cross Country and Swimming come to mind. I encourage you to refer to the sports section of the Gazette or DSU Now (every Monday at 3:30pm) on CKDU 88.1FM where Joey Ryba delivers our weekly Varsity Athletics sports report. Is Dalhousie going to see a football team or make Wickwire field an indoor soccer stadium in our lifetime? No. Let’s get serious, there are a few more pressing issues at hand – namely an affordable and accessible education. Dalhousie is first and foremost an academic institution and one in which I am proud of being a part of. For this reason, it’d be more fitting to give Rhodes Scholar’s this VIP status at The Grawood. While the DSU does a lot to support Athletics on campus there is much more that that the Dalhousie community should be doing. Allowing our athletes to bypass charitable donations does not make that list. This organization and it’s members need to make a concerted effort to support Athletics. Before we do that demand your $3! I’ll see you at the next swim meet.

Thanks for asking, Chris Ide.

Stéphane Dion on Education

2006-12-04T10:45:00.000-04:00

Stéphane Dion is the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He ran on a platform focused on environmental issues and sustainable development, but he has expressed some thoughts on post-secondary education during the campaign as well.

His convention speech on Friday included the following:

"But it takes more than tax breaks. The sustainable economy is, above all, a knowledge economy. We need to invest in the skills and talents of all Canadians, in our colleges and universities, in our students. We need to better link the lab and the market. We need to get Canadian ideas into the marketplace more quickly."

As Paul Wells notes, Dion explained his idea of the knowledge economy in more detail in a speech he delivered in Vancouver last May.

I was going to link to a video clip of Dion speaking about his time as a university professor, but when I checked the source code of his video conversations web page, I found a hidden file, not visible on the website itself, in which Dion answers the question: "What is you [sic] policy on post-secondary education?". I copied the video clip and put it on youtube so it can be viewed below. I don't know why this is hidden on Dion's official site.

Rich Student, Poor Student - Post #2

2006-12-01T10:56:00.000-04:00

Step 2: Get a job

Where should you work? If you know what you want to do in life then start doing it. This is easiest for people in professional programs, or in something like Accounting, Kinesiology or Finance, but you all have interests and skills and you are all capable of getting a job that you enjoy. This might not happen right away, if you’ve never worked before you might need some work or volunteer experience in order to get the job you want. If you can’t get the job you want then don’t be picky, you need to work now in order to be of value to future employers. If you think that your degree is a guaranteed job then you are fooling yourself. Employers like a person disciplined enough to take a job that might not be ideal, and they will rarely hire someone with no work experience. One of the best places to get a job is with the DSU. It’s on campus, your working with students, the work schedule is flexible so you can get to your classes, and there are lots of jobs available. There are also a good number of jobs with the university.

How do you get a good job? You need a good resume and good references, but most important is that you need to be persistent. There are lots of excellent resources at Dal to help you out with this. There is Career Services on the 4th floor of the SUB, the Student Employment Center (also on the 4th floor of the SUB), and some programs have their own career centers. These services are there to help you in every stage of your job search, and your paying for them, so use them. The one thing that you need to remember in a job search is that it is a lot like dating, some people will get action right away but others will have to beg to get what they want, don’t be ashamed to beg.

What if you don’t have time for a job? Hahahahaha. Okay, there are some people that are taking the six hardest courses and getting straight A’s, but they don’t need a job because they have a full scholarship. There are also some people that have to study a lot more than average in order to get decent grades, the rest of you are lying. I have been in three different programs at Dalhousie, and although I will admit that I did really bad in Engineering, I always had time to work a few hours a week. I understand that some people may only be able to work a little bit and that won’t pay the bills, that’s what the summer is for. If you aren’t able to hold a job and get good grades then that is fine, but you should be working hard during the summer to make up for that, and as I said before you should do your best to get a job during the summer that is relevant experience for what you want to do in the future.

Rich Student, Poor Student - Post #1

2006-11-29T14:42:00.000-04:00

So you say you’re a poor, deprived, university student that doesn’t have two cents to rub together, well I don’t buy it. The truth of the matter is that University is expensive and there are a lot of people that can’t afford post-secondary education, but if you are a Dal student then you are NOT one of those people. There are also a lot of students that work one or even two jobs while going to school and follow all of the advice that I have to give but are still strapped for cash, and those people I applaud. The reality though is that the majority of students are not handling their money properly and will end up graduating in a huge amount of debt, or leaching off their parents to get through the degree. This is not necessary. I’m not saying you shouldn’t leach off your parents, but if you do you should end your degree with $50,000 in your bank.

What do I know about how to handle money? I have been at Dal for 6 years and when I graduate this year I will have a very small amount of student loans, with money in investments that match it, and I will be walking into a well paying full-time job. I am not from a wealthy family and I have paid my entire tuition myself by working while in school and during the summers. I have received some government loans but no scholarships or bursaries, and in the later years was denied government loans because my mom made too much money, even though I didn’t get any of it (this happens to a lot of students from middle class families). I should point out to be fair that I did not have to pay rent while in University but at times I did own vehicles that cost me over $500/month to own and operate (almost enough to live by Dal). This is something that anyone of you can accomplish, and probably do a better job of, by following some advice. There are 7 steps that I have thought of in order to keep you financially stable and due to the length I will post them one or two at a time (every half week or so), they are as follows:

Step 1: Set a Goal
Step 2: Get a Job
Step 3: Milk the System
Step 4: Be Thrifty
Step 5: Be Smart
Step 6: Invest Everything, Especially Your Student Loan
Step 7: If Need Be, RRSP!

Step 1: Set a Goal

The best way to do anything is to set a realistic goal. This should always be your first step, regardless of what you are doing. When you are setting a goal there are two things you need to be careful not to do; do not underestimate yourself, and don’t set a goal so high you will get frustrated and give up. You need to make sure that your goal is measurable and achievable. Another key to this step is to set it early. I set my goal too late and might miss it by a couple thousand dollars. My goal was to graduate debt free (this was achievable for me because I do not pay rent), your goal may be to graduate with a certain amount of debt or investment. If you don’t pay your tuition then your goal might be to graduate with enough money to put a down payment on a house, if you pay tuition and rent it might be to graduate $20,000 in debt, either way a goal is important. I know that there are some of you out there that are thinking there is no way that you could ever get enough money to even think about having a financial goal, your wrong and we’ll see why in later posts. In closing I would like to say that there are two things that can go along way towards helping you financially; keep visiting this blog and reading the other tips, and read “The Wealthy Barber” by David Chilton, it will be the most valuable book you have ever read. Step 2 will follow in the days to come.

A thing of conscience? Or, nothing at all.

2006-11-29T11:16:00.000-04:00

It is with great pride and enthusiasm that I speak on behalf of Dalhousie students when I say that we, together, support the Dawgfather's continued occupancy in front of our Student Union Building. And why wouldn't we? The Dawgfather is an institution on campus, catering to both the plight of Dalhousie students' stretched budgets and desperate need for mutual social ties that constitute University spirit and identity.

That's the Dalhousie Student Union's official stand, and that's the fact of the matter. So, if you're on the Dawgfather's team, you're with us right? Evidently, not in all cases.

There is a movement (of the Facebook variety) comprised of 500+ (or 4% of) Dalhousie students which subscribe to the belief that "the Halifax city council and the DSU is trying to get tha Dawgfather off campus!" In spite of repeated attempts to question the movement's blatant misrepresentation and prejudicial slant, I've seen each of my posts removed. Hmm...

Perhaps it's the inherent jadedness of my political science and journalism backgrounds shimmering through but, in my opinion, parodies of reality within popular media contribute to much of the world's confusion - and our student community isn't exempt from any universal rules.

So, here, something real (edit: possibilities, based on my own ideas)

- The Halifax Regional Municipality owns the sidewalk where the Dawgfather
conducts business in front of the S.U.B. This is not University or Dalhousie
Student Union property (interesting fact: The Dawgfather makes an appearance
in DAL's recruitment video, which we believe to be an acknowledgement of his
contributions to campus).

- We are willing to meet with students, or the Dawgfather (who has been
approached), about how we can lend our time to help end his difficulties.

- We are willing to entertain the possibility of a Dawgfather Appreciation
Day on campus, if there is sufficient interest.

- The DSU Executive, as your student representatives, are fully committed to
any initiative students feel is vital. Let us know, and get involved. Can't
wait to see you.

Since keeping the Dawgfather within close quarters is the priority of Dalhousie students, it is - by default - our priority. And I would welcome any transparent discussion on the comment section of this blog for all to see (no posts will be removed).

As for you Facebook protestors, I can't deduce your agenda, but I would suggest investing your time in more progressive forms of advocacy (the world's problems are not going to be solved on Facebook, quote me).

The faults of the Dalhousie community can be best solved in a practical manner - it's fundamental and basic, just get involved.

Update: Ezra, Mike and I talk about the Dawgfather on DSU Now, our weekly radio talk show, Mondays 3:30PM-5PM CLICK HERE

Maclean's

2006-11-27T13:56:00.000-04:00

Ezra may be too modest to write about it, but I think it's worth noting that he appears, along with Canadian Alliance of Student Associations' National Director Phil Oullette, in this month's issue of Maclean's magazine.

They note that CASA is doing a better job than the press of getting answers from the federal government. During that week, we met with more than 170 MPs, Senators, civil servants and stakeholders to lobby on student issues. The DSU has played an important role in CASA since it was founded 10 years ago and Ezra currently serves as chair of the board of directors.

The Price of Knowledge

2006-11-21T16:29:00.000-04:00

Yes, we have jumped onto the Blog band wagon. I hope that you will enjoy our posts. All five of the executive will be posting on this blog at some point. If you have any comments we would love to hear them.

This weekend I read the 5^th chapter of the Price of Knowledge 2006, a document released by the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation (CMSF). The CMSF was set up in 1999 by the Chrétien government to provide grants to Canadian students. The foundation provides $350 million dollars to students each year, of which 95% is provided on a needs base basis with the other 5% going to merit based awards. In addition the Foundation also conducts research and the Price of Knowledge 2006 is its most recent research publication. Currently, only the final chapter is available here with the full document coming out sometime in the next month.

The CMSF does a lot of great work, although that is a point of contention within the Canadian student movement right now. The DSU, however, supports the function that the CMSF fulfills and would like to see that extended past its current 2009 expire date. But that is for a later post perhaps. Here I would like to focus on the observations around student debt provided in chapter five of the Price of Knowledge 2006.

Student debt has become one our biggest problems. Through the 1990’s student debt more then doubled from $11,636 in 1990 to $23,329 in 2000. In the past six years however, debt has only increased by three percent. In 2006, 59 percent of undergraduate students graduated from a university with an average of $24,047 in debt. Atlantic Canada had more student debt ($29,747) than any other region. One would think that the government has finally gotten the message, as student groups have been lobbying on this for at least the past ten years and to a certain degree they have. The creation of the CMSF is an example of that. Any form of needs-based bursary directly combats increasing student debt. Things are about the change. Both provincial and federal governments have made recent policy changes that are guaranteed to increase student debt. The federal government has lowered the expected parental contribution, which will result in students getting bigger loans. In New Brunswick, the provincial government has completely abolished the parental contribution. In Nova Scotia, the government has also decreased the parental contribution. In addition, more college students are graduating with higher debt levels, and the current interest relief programs are not being used as most students don’t know about them. To top it all off, no government has done any thinking about what amount of debt students can actually handle.

So, what are we doing about this grim picture? At both the provincial and federal level we want to see more grants programs; up front, needs-based grants. We want to see a complete review of the student financial assistance program, which currently spends most of its money on tax credits, back-end assistance that most students cannot use for years. We want to see increased federal funding to the provinces in the form of a dedicated transfer so that government funding to universities will increase, resulting in decreased tuition. Let me correct myself, we don’t want these changes, we need these changes. Canada currently lags behind most OECD countries in competitiveness and innovation. If we want to remain competitive in a global economy, we need to increase the number of Canadians going to post secondary education institutions. Saddling them with ever increasing student debt is not going to do that!