Council update: Report from March 20, 2026

The students’ union representative council met last Sunday, March 20 for their fourth meeting of the semester. The meeting began with council’s ratification of Taylor Smith as the students’ union vice president of communications, beginning May 1, 2011. She was hired last Saturday, and the motion to ratify her was carried. Following this, a bylaw amendment was put forward to add a second entertainment coordinator to the office of the vice president of events and activities for the coming academic year. Council debated this issue, with the current vice president...

The final word: Safety at StFX

Campus police vs. campus security

Here at StFX, the university strives to provide a safe and secure campus for all students, faculty and staff. The responsibility of upholding everyone’s safety falls into the hands of the Safety and Security Department, as well as within the collective support and cooperation of the Xaverian community. Traditionally, StFX has employed a student run campus police force, offering employment opportunities and responsibilities for students. StFX has decided to implement a new form of security, creating a campus security force that will be run along with the university’s Safety and...

Triple disaster causes carnage, tragedy in Japan

On March 11, 2011, the earth was shook as Japan experienced one of its largest earthquakes in history. Around 3 p.m. local time, an undersea earthquake hit just off the Japanese coast, recorded at a magnitude of 8.9. This was said to be one of the strongest earthquakes to ever hit the region. The northeast coast of Japan was next hit with a 33-foot tsunami wave that caused major damage and sent thousands out to fend for themselves. The aftershocks reached a magnitude of 6.0, which still shook the earth...

Administration decides to maintain current structure of Cameron and MacKinnon Hall

Wednesday of last week, on behalf of the administration, Vice President of Recruitment and Student Services Keith Publicover announced to the residents of Cameron and MacKinnon Hall that the current structure of the houses within the halls would remain for the coming academic year. After a number of years of bad behaviour, the administration was considering restructuring the houses to solve the problem. Many of the current and former residents saw this as an attack on their traditions, and joined the February student rally in protest. When students who applied...

StFX mourns prominent campus figure and professor, Dr. Ottilia Chareka

Last Sunday, a memorial service for Dr. Ottilia Chareka, a prominent member of the education department at StFX, was held at the university chapel. Hundreds of community members were present to mourn the sudden loss of Chareka, who was killed on the Wednesday prior to the service. Her husband has been charged with the murder. A native of Zimbabwe, Chareka led an incredible life. She was the first female high school graduate in her community, funded her own post-secondary schooling, and taught high school in Zimbabwe. In a country where...

A case for change

Remember when Barack Obama mobilized the masses of American voters under the banner of “keeping traditions”? No. Nobody remembers that because it’s the opposite of what actually happened. He brought millions of people back into the political arena by emphasizing the importance of change, of adapting to modern conditions and governing in the appropriate way – not simply sticking to old policies because, well, they were traditional ones. So why are we, as students of StFX, scoffing at change like an elderly couple being confronted with the issue of gay...

World Water Day at StFX

The world is running out of sustainable resources, and we often forget about the most basic of those: water. Canada Water Week, which began last Tuesday and continues until World Water Day on this coming Tuesday, aims to celebrate this precious commodity and raise awareness of its scarcity. “Water is the lifeblood of the earth, it’s a tangible idea that we can locate,” says Matt Chisolm, a sustainability officer at StFX. “Sometimes it’s hard for people to identify with climate change and environmental degradation of the biosphere. But you look...

A flawed process

Last Sunday, the incoming students’ union president and vice president, Olwyn Foley and Nate Minichiello, presented their selections for next year’s executive team to council. The policies of the union dictate that each year, the newly selected executive vice presidents must be approved by majority of council. The process, known as ratification, is intended to ensure those selected to be part of the new executive leadership team are right for the job. Such is the theory, anyway. The problem is that theory doesn’t necessarily translate into reality. While the intentions...

In Brief

Antigonish hopeful for a top five spot

Last week, Antigonish got one step closer to becoming Kraft Hockeyville, a prize that comes with $100, 000 to upgrade the local arena, an NHL pre-season game held in that arena, and CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast from the town. Antigonish and Conception Bay, Newfoundland, each made it in to the top ten from the Atlantic region, and voting for the top five ended last Sunday. This Saturday evening, the top five communities will be announced during game two of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, and voting for the...

In Brief

Japan disasters might hurt Atlantic fisheries

The recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear emergencies in Japan could likely have a detrimental effect on the fishing industry in Atlantic Canada, according to CBC news. John Sackton, a prominent seafood industry analyst and editor of seafood.com told the CBC, “the country [may become] so focused on relief and rebuilding that they’re not really thinking more about the high end goods.” Japan currently accounts for a huge portion of Atlantic seafood exports. Newfoundland, for example, sends 40 per cent of their crab catches to Japan annually, according to CBC. Perhaps...

In Brief

Two stabbed at SMU

Police are looking for a suspect in connection with a stabbing at St. Mary’s University on Monday night.

The incident occurred shortly after 10 p.m. when a verbal argument involving seven individuals escalated into a physical altercation. According to police, one individual then pulled out a knife and stabbed two others.

Both victims sustained non-life threatening injuries and were briefly taken to hospital before being released.

The incident happened around the Loyola building on the SMU campus.

Spring election results announced

The unofficial election results for the StFX Students’ Union Spring Election were announced on Tuesday night after a day of online voting. The Students’ Union Representative Council for the 2011-2012 academic year was announced first. Matt LeMoine and Rachel Mitchell are the newly-elected Arts Councilors, Victoria Steeves and Jessie McEwen are the newly-elected Business and Information Systems Councilors, Kathleen Murphy and Mitch Vissers are the newly-elected Science Councilors, and Ryan Chisholm is the newly-elected Education Councilor. Ethan Dawson is the newly-elected Governors and New Residence Councilor, Li Wan is the...

Taylor set up for success in the business world, and set to inspire her female peers

Genevieve Taylor, a fourth year honours accounting student, has a lot on her plate. She juggles her thesis, chairing student council, running the Right to Play society, running the Women in Business society, and a regular course load. Taylor has proven herself to be one of the most impressive women at the Gerald Schwartz School of Business, earning several awards throughout her four years here, the most recent being the Frank H. Sobey Business Excellence Award in January. An incredible honour, the award is given to six students in Atlantic...

Bottles to go down the drain?

Ten Canadian universities already go without bottled water, campaign launched by the Aquatic Resources society aims to make StFX the 11th

Of the marketing strategies that have been used in the 20th century, perhaps the most successful is that utilized in the bottled water industry. Convincing consumers of a necessity to buy bottled water so as to avoid the dangers of municipal tap water has permitted bottling companies such as Coke, Pepsi, and Nestlé to reap enormous profits in what has become one of the fastest growing markets. While, from the corporate viewpoint, it is a success, the problems with bottled water are numerous. The financial cost borne by consumers is...

Keith Publicover: the role and the vision

The general feeling among students, and even faculty, is that few people on campus have a clear idea of what Vice President of Recuritment and Student Experience Keith Publicover is responsible for. What does Publicover do, and why? Given that he has been at the centre of so much change – even turmoil – on campus of late, it is deplorable that Publicover’s role is virtually unknown to the people primarily affected by his decisions. To remedy this situation, your Xaverian Weekly correspondent spent a morning with Publicover walking around...