National

A British Columbia Supreme Court judge ruled Jan. 5 that disabled University of Victoria student Alkis Gerd’son, who has lived on campus for the last 18 years, will be allowed remain in residence despite the university’s attempts to evict him.

Despite this ruling, Gerd’son is taking his case to the BC human rights tribunal because he has said the university is discriminating against him based on his disability.

Airports are not the only place upping security these days.

An increasing number of professional programs now require students to give a digital print of their finger, thumb, or veins in their palm to write high-stakes entrance tests for professional programs such as medicine and business.

Students were among the thousands of Canadians who gave up their Saturday afternoon to gather at Parliament Hill Jan. 23, protesting Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s second prorogation within the last year.

For Paige Galette, a second-year political science student at University of Ottawa who attended the rally, the prorogation has direct consequences. As a Haitian Canadian, she said she was “shocked” by the timing of the prorogation.

“I have family [in Haiti] so it affects me personally,” Galette said.

The University of Ottawa’s campus security unconditionally revoked a No Trespassing Notice on Jan. 11 that was issued to a teaching assistant accused of painting graffiti. The notice barred the student from campus and he said he suffered from “discrimination, interference, and humiliation,” as a result.

Denis Rancourt, the tenured University of Ottawa physics professor who made headlines in March 2009 when he was dismissed by the university, has announced on his blog that the university hired an undergraduate student journalist to spy on him. 

U of O dismissed Rancourt on March 31 because they said he was grading his students arbitrarily. Rancourt was well-known for his pedagogic teaching method whereby he awarded an A+ to all of his students.