I’m working on a story related to Oshawa continued anti-student posturing tonight. As part of my story, I’m reading all the coverage I did for *Maclean’s *and getting nostalgic.
Erin Millar and I did an amazing job of covering higher education back in 2007 and 2008. She did an amazing job building that site and we were the top source for higher education coverage in Canada.
I like to think we raised the bar forcing the creation of GlobeCampus and the new University Affairs.
Anyway, my experiences as a journalist are another series of blog posts and not what I started this post to discuss.
Back to the point – as I was saying, I’m looking at my old articles and I miss the old Joey Coleman. You remember, the smart ass, fun loving guy. The guy who did nothing in life beyond blogging, working at the parking garage on weekends and evenings to subsidize that blogging, school, and sometimes slept.
While, there is no going back to those days. I work 8am – 12 noon M-F at the parking garage. I’m taking tougher courses, and have rediscovered my friends. (They’re nice people who like to see me every few weeks or so)
That said, I do want to return to blogging more often and doing some form of a regular higher education update on joeycoleman.ca along the lines of the ON CAMPUS DAILY UPDATES I wrote back in the *Maclean’s *days. Reading the update I wrote for 06 November 2007, I smile at how much fun I had.
I enjoy how I wrote the second half of the update:
Beam me up SSMU
The Student Society of McGill University will be holding a special general meeting next Tuesday in which they will vote on joining a Quebec students strike. The student strike is not the only matter before them. A student group calling itself “Students Organized Against Protestors”, SOAP for short, has put forth motions to honour McGill graduate William Shatner of Captain Kirk fame.
The motions call for renaming buildings at McGill with Star Trek-themed names, would force the Students’ Society Council to recite “Rocket Man” in the style of William Shatner, and will require the students’ society to provide prayer space for students “Shatner-worship needs.”
Personally, I liked Shatner’s destruction of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
I can only ask one thing, can somebody amend the motion to exclude Max Silverman, I hear his singing is really bad. Also, what about those who pray to The Prophets?
Free condoms in your paper? You need protection!
In yet another case of political correctness gone mad, the University of California has cancelled the distribution of 4,500 condoms in the campus paper after some people took offense.
People claimed to take offense, not at the distribution of condoms, but at the advertisement for the distribution which showed two stick figures in the missionary position.
The University health centre had agreed at the beginning of the semester to provide the condoms which the paper would insert into the Nov. 14 issue. Following complaints, the campus health centre will instead print coupons in the student paper which students can submit for a free condom.
Could somebody please invent a form of protection for people who take offense too easily? Or at least something to inject common sense into the ivory tower? Anyone?
Speaking of sex, student newspapers and censorship
Loyola University has pulled a student magazine from distribution on the campus after the magazine ran a sex issue on the Jesuit campus.
The magazine included a drawing of a naked woman in high heels being penetrated by a male from behind. Clearly this is a taboo on most campuses; let alone a private Catholic university.
The students are claiming their freedom of speech is being infringed upon; a valid claim. However, all freedoms must be exercised with reason, just because you have the presses doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want with them. Clearly, this is a Catholic university and nobody is forced to be there. One goes there with the clear understanding that there are certain conventions that are followed. In short, the University is well within its rights to remove this publication; if these students wish to publish a magazine without the restrictions of Catholic doctrine, they are more than able to register at the local public university.