Adam Stewart

Hi there, this is Adam Stewart, one of your fantastic CFMH radio hosts. I’m writing this letter to let the student body know that there is now an open mic night here on campus every Monday beginning at 8pm. Myself as well as local sensation, Marvin Rathburn, an up and coming star in the Maritime music scene, will host it.

The weekly event will run for approximately three hours ending at 11pm. If you or anyone you know would like to showcase your musical talents then feel free to drop on by. There is plenty of room for full bands and there is also more than enough time each week to let loose and jam out. It’s a great opportunity for local talent to meet up and have fun.

It is also important to note that we will accept any kind of mic related skills. I used the term “music” a little too forcefully above. We are strong supporters of the arts so if you have any comedic talents, would like to share some poetry, showcase some beat box skills, or anything else you can express through a microphone than you are more than welcome on our stage.

Even if you don’t play anything but feel a strong urge to support starving artists then come on out, bring some friends, and indulge in a few cheap beverages (providing, of course, that you are nineteen years old). There is absolutely no cover charge. This is simply an event for people to get together and enjoy some great Saint John talent.

If you have any questions you can contact me at 1-506-721-7080 or email me at holy_stew@hotmail.com. There should also be a Facebook group coming out in the near future so keep your eyes peeled. Thank you to anyone interested and I hope to hear from you soon!

Cheers,

Adam Stewart

The general public sometimes seems immune to the issues facing our higher education institutions.  Evidently, we have heard of  (and still regret ) the soaring costs of a university degree for the students, the insufficient funds to maintain much needed programs for anglophones and francophones alike and the lack of research money for the professors.  One subject seems to come back and “bite us on the foot “ regularly: the fact that university teachers have job security known as tenure.   As a university teacher, I would like to point out my view on the question.

Tenure is the guarantee that full-time professors can teach and do their research without fear of reprisal in areas and ideas that might be unpopular with the various forms of institutional power that define our intellectual sphere.  This means that if a researcher in one of our universities wants to work on a project that isn’t in the best interest of the administrators or the reigning political party, he or she has the necessary job security to complete and publish the study.  Imagine a world of academia where professors are forced to do research that only shows the world as a bright crystal ball in which everything is marvellous and reflects the very same philosophy as that of our administrators!  When you think about it, it wouldn’t even be an interesting place to be!

Tenured teachers and librarians are in a position to benefit society by advancing views that might incidentally annoy politicians, dismay university administrators and even outrage media pundits.  Is it not in the public interest that one group have the ability to stand up to the powerful without job retaliation?  Shouldn’t more groups have that possibility?  Think of our newspaper reporters.  Aren’t they supposed to analyse and publish their findings without fear of reprisal?  I only hope they feel that they can do that!

Let’s suppose the province decided to abolish tenure, that professors could be dismissed easily for saying the truth as they see it.  New Brunswick universities would attract only those teachers and researchers who could not secure jobs elsewhere and soon our graduates would have degrees that lacked credibility.  The quality of higher education in our province would slide downwards without a chance of recovering.

Linda Lequin

President

Federation of New Brunswick Faculty Associations

Re: The Real Col. Tucker

Col. Tucker’s bequest of 400 acres is more than 5 times that of Rockwood, the former Fredericton estate of Reverend Jonathan Odell, the infamous Loyalist poet and physician.  The estate now contains a park, a botanical garden, and an arboretum.  The arboretum was built to mark Fredericton’s bicentennial as New Brunswick’s capital, as suggested by the late Senator Murial McQueen Fergusson.  Would not the honouring of the bequests of Col. Tucker and his sister by the City of Saint John and UNBSJ be an appropriate way to mark the 225th birthdays of the City of Saint John and UNB?

The first sentence doesn’t make sense. Rockwood is in Saint John The former Fredericton estate of Jonathan Odell, Odell Park is in Fredericton.

-       Bill Traer

First class bash: time for a change…

I never was one who liked change. I was always firmly against it. The 2010 UNBSJ first class bash showed me how wrong I could be. Let us start from the beginning. People would usually end up getting drunk at their own pre drinking sessions and end up getting buzzed or better yet drunk. They would then proceed to call a cab to take them to UNBSJ not caring about what they would see but instead just wanting to flail their arms and legs around as if performing some sort of a dance. Then you’d see the couples grinding to almost any song, which brings me to my next point.

I think the SRC wants to keep the bash as cheap as possible while looking to make the biggest profits. Any successful business would like to accomplish this but then the SRC isn’t a business. It’s the student representative council. Where’s the representation? After all they call some unknown DJ who probably doesn’t even play his own music. They just give him a CD with the same songs on it as every bash because though we’ve had different DJ’s I’ve just heard the same music every time. I don’t think this is the example UNB wants to set for internationals for when I go home I’m going to tell people this university may run by 2010 rules academically but is still ancient on the social scene.

Why is there no change? Do you people not get sick of it? I’m happy this time’s bash was so empty as I feel people don’t want to dance to some unknown guy playing the same music. I’m not saying get someone expensive, what I’m trying to say is get someone new who will experiment with his own music.

I may not be experienced in this segment of life but one thing is for sure, change is always for the better. Bring about change UNB. Is this really the way you want to start the new decade?

-      Darryl Sequeira

Plagiarism

Following several complaints from readers, the Baron editorial staff has discovered that two articles published in the last issue of the paper have portions of their content taken from other media sources without permission or citation (re: A bit off the beaten track, but still a smooth ride and Pfizer: Profiting off the needy since 1849). Subsequent investigation, in keeping with the Baron’s zero tolerance policy towards plagiarism, has uncovered similar problems with other articles by the writer in question. This writer has since been dismissed and more thorough screening processes put in place to counteract similar incidents in the future. The Baron editorial staff would like to apologize for this incident and sincerely thank the readers who brought it to our attention.

- The Baron editorial staff

UNBSJ Green Week

The SRC is planning a green week for the week of January 26th – January 29th!  This is something our campus has never done and would like your support and participation. We are currently promoting a green competition open to all clubs, societies, or any other group of students who wish to organize a green activity or event during that week. The best activity or event planned will get a PRIZE! Examples of activities can include bringing in a guest speaker, bottle drive contest, information booth, movie night, battery collection depot, etc. Sustainability is becoming a more important issue within our community and we would like to raise awareness. Green Week will be planned to raise awareness about what students can do to increase participation in green activities around campus and interest in making the community more eco-friendly. This will also be a way to promote current or upcoming green initiatives such as the recycling bin program.

If interested in planning an event or activity, please contact Celia McDermott, VP External, src-external@unbsj.ca. Please e-mail as soon as possible for details or help in planning to ensure effective advertising of your planned activity or event.

–
Celia McDermott

Tired of the snow? Do you want to get away from Saint John? Do you dream of travelling while earning University credits? Well, UNB is again offering its very popular Spring in France Program that gives you the opportunity to enjoy the culture and economy of France in the best possible social and intellectual environment and most important at the lowest cost.

A variety of Economics and French courses will be offered in France from May 3 to 22, one in Economics, taught by Dr. Constantine Passaris, and one in French, taught by Dr. Robert Viau. Classes will be held in French Universities, museums, churches, banks, restaurants, sidewalk cafés and in important sites related to French economics, literature, politics and history.

Everyone is invited to participate in this exciting travel study program. You may choose to audit the courses or take them for credit. Come practice your French and learn about the European economy. Don’t worry, after a few days, you will have adapted quite well and greatly improved your knowledge of the French language.

Poitiers has a vibrant culture that attracts many young artists and is the dynamic regional capital of the Poitou-Charentes. From our base in the medieval city of Poitiers, we have planned excursions by bus. You will discover rural France in all of its beauty and diversity: the castles of Touffou and of La Roche-Courbon, the seaport of Rochefort, the medieval village of Chauvigny, Saint-Savin abbey, Angles-sur-l’Anglin (voted the most beautiful village of France), the Renaissance castle of Chambord in the Loire valley

We will be invited to official receptions (by the University of Poitiers and the Vienne departmental government) and enjoy gastronomic meals in regional restaurants. After a full week exploring Poitiers and the French countryside, we will settle for the next two weeks in Paris.

In Paris, we will go to all the legendary landmarks, including a full day in Versailles, and have many exceptional visits (allowed only under special permission to UNB): the Sorbonne University, the Bank of France, Unesco, the Canadian Embassy, the Senate, the National Assembly, and the National Library of France. We will also have a nocturnal visit of the Louvre, a Parisian fashion show, a banquet in a renowned restaurant, a night cruise on the Seine River, a tour of the Fragonard perfume factory and of the boutiques that made Paris famous: Chanel, Vuitton, Dior, and many other activities.

Come and visit the Louvre, follow the steps of the characters in the Da Vinci Code, search for Quasimodo in the belfry of Notre-Dame Cathedral, see where the French Revolution started and where the guillotine ended the life of Marie-Antoinette, admire the monuments of Louis XIV and Napoleon, climb the Eiffel Tower, sit where Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises and drank with Scott Fitzgerald and Henry Miller, play chess in the café in Montparnasse where Lenin and Trotsky waited for the Russian Revolution to start, walk through Picasso’s studio, pay your respects to rock star Jim Morrison (of The Doors) at his final resting place and create your own enduring myths!

Program fees include almost everything and accommodations are of superior quality. We will go where tourists rarely go or are not allowed to go. With specialists who know Poitiers and Paris, you won’t lose your time and you will experience the trip of a lifetime (if you don’t believe us, talk to the students who went in the previous years).

Enrolment for the Spring in France Program is limited and is filling up fast. For more information about the course or how to register, please visit http://www.cel.unb.ca/travelstudy/france/english.php or write rviau@unb.ca and passaris@unb.ca

-          Robert Viau

The annual holiday known as Halloween, derived from the Christian holy day of the eve of “All Saints day,” was once associated with scary traditions such as wearing scary costumes. Unfortunately, in today’s times people have forgotten their history and instead bring about a new meaning to the word Halloween: let’s dress up as something stupid and sexy. That was perhaps the theme of this year’s UNBSJ Halloween party. Girls tried wearing clothing that would reveal as much as possible, while guys chose to be ridiculous house hold appliances. Whatever happened to tradition? Halloween was and still should be the day it was meant to be. The only word associated with it should be fear.

Halloween truly does have some elements of the festival of the dead. This year’s Halloween party made me wish I was dead. The horrible costumes, not to mention the music which was just a waste of time. I’m sorry to say but at least in this segment of life, Saint John is losing its focus. It’s hard to believe Saint John is Canada’s first city.

It just goes to show that people now are losing their way. It’s hard to believe that such traditional parties will just get worse from now on. In other words, Halloween has died and stupidity has arisen.

By Darryl Sequeira

Winter is getting closer. With it comes fun activities including snowball fights,
building snowmen, skiing, and Skating. One special event that takes place during the
winter months is Skate to Care. The Psychology Society is forming a team. We would love
to have you join the fun! This year, Skate to Care is happening on February 13th. Skate
to Care is a fundraising event put on by Mind Care New Brunswick. For those who are not
familiar with Skate to Care some of the highlights include, a day of activities and
skating at Harbor Station, this year’s theme is the 2010 Winter Olympics, and all
money raised by the team goes to Skate to Care. If you do not wish to skate that is ok.
You can still be a part of the team; there will be many other activities to experience in
during Skate to Care. In past years, the money raised through Skate to Care has
gone to many important organizations throughout Saint John including Romero House,
Hospice Saint John, and the Saint John Regional Hospital Department of Psychiatry.

For more information or to join the team email psycsocietyunbsj@hotmail.com.

Lea Watson
(Psychology Society President)

There is an upcoming opportunity for all students to get involved in the political process and have their voices heard. On Friday, November 13th, the Liberal Party Biennial Policy Convention is taking place in Fredericton, where Liberals from across the country and locally shall gather and discuss the latest concerns of the people of NB.

That night, there will be a Youth Commission after the Panel Discussion for an hour where students and youth will have full on access to the panel to raise issues or concerns. They want many students to attend so they can hear what students are concerned about and what we consider to be important issues right now. You do not have to consider yourself to be liberal in order to participate; the purpose is to hear what all students have to say. The Panel will include some but not the entire list below:

Frank McKenna, Marcel Mersereau, Paul Zed, Andy Scott, Georgie Day, and Shelia Copps. Michael Ignatieff will be the keynote speaker for the evening.

We will be leaving campus between 1-2 pm, and leaving Fredericton around 9 pm to return
to Saint John, and will be providing transportation to and from Fredericton. If you would like to attend, email d6fd0@unb.ca.
There is room for a lot of students or youth to attend this commission, so we hope youcan make it, and spread the word! Thanks from your friends at the UNBSJ Political Science Association.

PSA President, Amanda Sadlier

Calling all thespians and Shakespeare fans! The Shoestring Theatre will be starting up quite soon! If you don’t know what this is, I can tell you one thing: it is a lot of fun.

Dr. Sandra Bell started this activity in 2002, naming it the Lunch Hour Theatre. The name was changed later on so that the actors would not be locked into one time period. It is now known as Shoestring Theatre, called as such for the shoestring budget we perform on.

We have very few props and costuming consists of black pants and shirt or just regular clothing. Shoestring has performed mock operas, short one-act and student-written plays, as well as some improvisational theatre. For the past few years Shoestring has enacted scenes and monologues from Shakespeare’s plays.

Dr. Bell is the president of the Saint John Shakespeare Society for her fourth year, is on the Second Stage committee in the Saint John Theatre Company, and teaches renaissance drama and Shakespeare courses at UNBSJ. She has run Shoestring since its beginning, the exception being last year when she was busy giving a speech at the Globe Theatre in London. Jay Rawding, a graduated English Honours student at UNBSJ, directed Shoestring last year.

This year Dr. Bell is thinking of putting together a mixture of monologues and short scenes of 2-3 actors from Shakespeare’s plays, unless a student would like to request a short play. The performance usually takes place during the winter term, so the actors will have enough time to get to know their scenes and practice them. There is at least one performance on campus and a performance in the Shakespeare Society’s performance space in Brunswick Square.

This year we are also hoping to perform for a high school or two. A side note to the worrywarts: no plague will stop this theatre! The show must go on!

I have been a part of this theatre company for the past two years, since my first year here at UNBSJ, and I can’t wait to join in the fun again this year. Every actor has roughly the same amount of stage time, so there are no ‘lead actors.’ Everyone gets their chance at stardom.

Since there are only short scenes and monologues it isn’t very hard to memorise lines, and it can be a great help in English classes since we learn the meanings of many frequently used words of the period. Dr. Bell is a fantastic director, who can be both silly and serious, making the rehearsals great fun while the performances are pulled off spectacularly.

If you want to see what the performances are like, the 2008 and 2009 shows can be found on YouTube by searching “Shoestring Theatre.” Anyone interested in joining should look for announcements around the second week of November, and can contact Dr. Bell at sbell@unbsj.ca for more information.

Greetings UNBSJ Students! This is Wren Crandall from the new and improved Social Justice and Sexuality Center (formerly the Women’s Resource Center). As a new set of midterms bears down on us yet again, it’s easy to forget about to take time out for some reflective thought, as well as having fun.

Just drop by the Student Center, Second Level, Room 224, for free fair-trade cappuccino, condoms, candy, and social justice information or email at a641z@unb.ca. We would love to meet you.

Revamped and in the process of expanding our services, we have kept the Women’s Resource Center but made it broader in scope. We have kept our old goals of keeping the UNBSJ campus fully stocked with condoms, candy, free pregnancy tests, tampons, and community referrals. We also offer free political science and philosophy tutoring.
Whether it is one student concerned about being pregnant, or another struggling with their gender identity, all issues are taken seriously and in confidence. One key reason why this service exists to students is that many simply do not know the campus and community services available to them, should they find themselves in trouble. Thus, we are here to help; to act as a peer-based liaison and information center.
The Social Justice and Sexuality Center has a strong referral system for those facing potential sexuality and/or addiction problems. We partner with grassroots community non-profit organizations such as AIDS Saint John, to get information about safe sex, comfortable sexuality, social justice out there.

Our center can also arrange training in CPR, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention and Suicide Intervention, and Women’s Self-Defense classes for those on campus, courses the center’s own volunteers have taken and benefitted greatly from.

The Center provides a strong feminist and progressive voice on campus on a variety of social justice and sexuality issues. It allows for political advocacy (on issues such as student loans, affordable housing) from students, for students, in an organized way that gets results.

I feel excited, and privileged, about bringing the message of safe sex and social justice to the UNBSJ Campus.

Wren Crandall is the President of the Social Justice and Sexuality Center. She is also a double Honors student in Philosophy and Political Science, and promoter of UNBSJ’s Student Abroad Program.