News
The Dalhousie Student Union’s attendance problem
If free pizza isn’t enough to lure students, then what is? Near the end of last semester, on Nov. 7, the Dalhousie Student Union held its annual general meeting. The meeting failed to meet quorum – the minimum number of people required to pass new business. At the meeting, executives discussed their plans for the year and vice-president…
Read MoreStudents protest Peter MacKinnon
Peter MacKinnon hasn’t been on Dalhousie University campus for long, but controversy is already stirring. On Jan. 21, Dalhousie’s new interim president arrived at the Arts Centre, for his Studley campus welcome event. A group of silent protesters was waiting for him with a list of demands for the school, the first being MacKinnon’s immediate removal. The protests…
Read MoreWeekly news roundup
International news Venezuela In Venezuela, at least a 20 people have been killed and dozens more have been injured in protests against and in support of government. At the largest of these anti-government protests on Wednesday, opposition leader Juan Guiado declared himself president following the inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro and an election Guiado says…
Read MoreUndervaluing part-time professors
Being a part-time professor is precarious work – and they make up about 50 per cent of the teaching workforce at universities across Canada according to the 2016 study Precarious U. Associate professor of Sociology at Dalhousie University, Karen Foster, conducted the study to try and find out what this looked like in Nova Scotia. “There are a lot of stereotypes about who works part-time, non-tenure track contracts at universities,” says Foster. “We like to think…
Read MoreFarewell to Florizone
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length, clarity and style. Richard Florizone is on to new things for the new year. The 11th president of Dalhousie University is taking his leave from Halifax and heading to the Quantum Valley Ideas Lab in Waterloo, Ontario. Dalhousie Gazette contributor Isabel Buckmaster chatted with Florizone over the December break to discuss his time…
Read MoreMeet Peter MacKinnon
At the Board of Governors meeting on Nov. 27, outgoing Dalhousie University President Richard Florizone described Peter MacKinnon as “an older and wiser” version of himself. MacKinnon is slated to serve as Dal’s interim president from Jan. 15 until June 30. He was unable to accommodate an interview with the Dalhousie Gazette before publication, but we wanted to give…
Read MoreDecember debrief
Lord Dalhousie panel holds public discussion The Scholarly Panel to Examine Lord Dalhousie’s History on Slavery and Race has publicly shared its findings for the first time. On Dec. 10, the panel hosted a public engagement session to discuss its initial findings. The Lord Dalhousie panel was commissioned by Dalhousie University President Richard Florizone and Senate Chair Kevin Hewitt back in 2016; since forming, Dal’s own Dr. Afua Cooper has been…
Read MoreA new way to get help?
A variety of e-mental health tools are currently being piloted across Nova Scotia’s post-secondary campuses. The hope is that these tools will help alleviate appointment wait-times and provide counselling alternatives to students in need. “As someone who had seen and used on-campus counselling, I saw the pros and cons to what on-campus counselling was like and understood the need for something…
Read MoreDal’s $55,000 price tag on access to employment information “absolute lie”
Remember that $55,000 price tag Dalhousie University gave the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) for a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) request about employment at the university? A Dal whistleblower says that the school exaggerated the cost. In the summer of 2017, CUPE submitted a request for information about how many full and part-time professors were employed at Dalhousie over the…
Read MoreDishonourable degrees
Editor’s note: This article discusses sexual assault, including the sexual abuse of children. Gazette contributor Karla Renic is a student of Robert Huish. To avoid a conflict of interest, Matt Stickland conducted the interview with Huish. Dalhousie University has no policy on rescinding honorary degrees – even when the recipient is on trial for sexually abusing children. For more than 25 years, Peter Dalglish was a Canadian humanitarian. He…
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