THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.
KEVIN MENZ
Associate News Editor
Considering it’s a new year and a new term, the Sheaf thought it would be a good idea to recap some significant campus events from 2010.
Jan. 5 — The master plan for the development of College Quarter — the area around Cumberland Avenue and College Drive — was approved by the U of S Board of Governors. Student housing was the primary focus of this development and the project is now well into phase one — the building of a 400 bed residence. Phase two — another 400 bed residence — is expected to start on completion of phase one.
Feb. 10, March 23 —The federal and provincial governments pulled funding for the First Nations University of Canada in February due to alleged misspending and wrongful dismissal. The funding was returned by the Saskatchewan government on March 23. The new funding is currently monitored and controlled by the University of Regina. The federal governments annual $7 million funding did not return with the provincial funding.
March 3 — Professor Emeritus Karim Nasser and his family donated $12 million dollars worth of real estate to the university. Two properties — the Edwards School of Business K. W. Nasser Centre downtown and the Idylwyld Apartments on Idylwyld Drive — valued at $18 million were sold to the university for $6 million. The money is being used for bursaries, the College of Engineering, the K.W. Nasser Centre, College Quarter construction and the proposed Gordon Oakes-Redbear Student Centre.
April 7 —The U of S’s contract with Coca-Cola expired June 2010. The original contract ran from 1998 to 2008, during which time the company donated $200,000 per year to the school. The contract was extended for two years without the donations due to the university’s failure to sell 150,000 cases.
As this contract ended, the campus community was asked for feedback on pursuing another exclusive agreement with Coca-Cola or any of its competitors, or if the university should explore other options. The discussions have since incorporated ethical concerns as well as financial concerns, with many in the campus community wanting to pursue more environmentally friendly options such as banning bottled water.
Sept. 14 — Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker’s implementation of the Bill of Rights on Sept. 9, Stephen Harper announced $1.3 million in funding for the Diefenbaker Canada Centre. The funding, which is from the federal government’s Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, must be used to improve the centre’s infrastructure and the project must be completed (or the funds all used) by March 31, 2011 because of the ISF policies.
Oct. 20 — The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority began to seriously enforce their policy on beer nights, resulting in a ban of the fundraising events.
“SLGA’s legislation has always prohibited the resale of beverage alcohol in permitted establishments,” said David Morris from SLGA communications. “Permitted establishments cannot allow customers to purchase and resell beverage alcohol within the establishment.”
Nov. 4 — The Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering announced its support for the U of S’s proposal to build a Canadian Neutron Source. The proposed CNS would be used solely for neutron beam research and its construction would correspond nicely with the university’s synchrotron.
The project is currently in its first of three stages, as it has been proposed but not officially approved. The second stage would be feasibility studies and the third stage would be the actual construction.
The total cost would likely be around $500 million.
Nov. 4 — The U of S Board of Governors approved the university’s 2011-12 operations forecast, which is a request to the provincial government regarding investment needs for the upcoming school year. The university asked for a 4.3 percent ($11.5 million) increase in its operating grant to help fund faculty salaries, general inflation and library acquisitions. They requested a capital grant of $35 million, which would solely be used for maintenance. They requested a capital projects funding of $38 million for projects such as phase II of the College Quarter residences and the Gordon Oakes-Redbear Student Centre. And they asked for $2.8 million for potential investment opportunities.
Dec. 1 — The Indigenous Students’ Council contacted the Sheaf about a racist incident that occurred on Oct. 14. During a gathering in Wiggins Court celebrating Aboriginal culture, two individuals in a vehicle drove by yelling racial slurs. The incident eventually led to one female Aboriginal student being spat on. The ISC contacted Campus Safety but not much could be done as there were no security cameras in the vicinity and the ISC could not completely provide the vehicle’s full licence plate number. The ISC has been meeting with the university and President MacKinnon’s advisors “to see how the university can communicate to its students that this can happen, but shouldn’t happen and will not be tolerated,” said John Desjarlais, president of the ISC.
If you would like a recap of the USSU’s year so far — especially their public stances on childcare on campus, the PotashCorp bids and the proposed white water park — check out “U of S Student’s Union year in review.”
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