News Briefs

Dal announces new partnership to tackle the flu
by Nicolas Haddad, news contributor

Dalhousie is fighting the flu—on a bigger scale. (via StockPhoto)

As new strains of influenza appear across the globe, Dalhousie is staying ahead of the game. The university is collaborating on a long-term influenza research project with the University of Saskatchewan. Dal president Richard Florizone, former vice-president finance and resources at the Saskatoon university, announced a partnership with his former employer Jan. 6 over Twitter.

While flu research is nothing new at Dalhousie, this partnership will set the stage for research efforts at a national level. Scott Halperin, professor of immunology, pediatrics and microbiology at Dal, is leading the project. Halperin also heads the department of infectious diseases at the IWK and is the director of the Canadian Center for Vaccinology.

Students Nova Scotia launch new campaign
by Jesse Ward, assistant news editor

Students Nova Scotia (SNS) is asking post-secondary students in Nova Scotia to voice their opinions on student debt.

A petition to Nova Scotia’s MLAs and the hashtag #StudentsSpeakOut are at the forefront of the advocacy group’s new Students Speak Out campaign.

The petition asks the provincial government to adopt three policies they have drafted.

The requests are to freeze tuition at zero per cent growth until youth employment outcomes recover, improve the Nova Scotia Student Assistance Program and give students the power to choose whether new ancillary fees are approved for non-academic services.
As of press time, the petition—“Province of Nova Scotia: Act on post-secondary education affordability and youth retention and attraction”—has attracted 104 supporters.

More information on the campaign and a link to the petition may be found at www.studentsspeakout.ca.