I bashfully present (most of) Issue 8. Missing, sadly, from the pdf is a very hilarious last page, the cover page, and the actually editorial page. There were printer, quark, adobe, gmail, and pdf merger issues. Most issues were significant. I know, you're saying to yourself - all the work of that very attractive editor, lost into obscurity, except for the reference issue at Robertson. I also feel your pain. We'll move on together.
In the meantime, our best issue so far:
In PDF
News and More:
Ode to Charlottetown Nightlife
Patio vs. Carver
Student Trivia Team Victorious!
Five Sites for Easy Music
Live Blog of Obama's Inauguration
Inauguration pt. 2
What Craig St. Jean is Eating
Comics by Sean Skerry
Letters to the Editor:
Arts Cuts Infuriating
Re: The Discovery of Childhood Obesity
CSJ Offends (He is Gleeful)
Reviews:
Postmodern Reviews: Movies that Have Not Yet Happened
The Decemberists' Always a Bridesmaid
UPEI and the War on Academia
There's a terrifying trend in the finance department of UPEI. It's looking more and more like the most fundamental parts of education are being cut to save money"The recent decision to slash the arts will lead to both fewer special interest topics and fewer sessional teachers. Students in the political studies department have suffered an even harsher blow. No new staff are being integrated into the faculty, despite desperate need for more professors in the discipline in the wake of one professor's recent retirement.
Last issue, when I was researching what students liked best about UPEI, it struck me that the general consensus about what makes UPEI so great is the professors. Not a single person looked me in the eyes and said, "Well, Kate, I love UPEI because of the big fence that was recently built around campus. I hear it was very expensive!". Nobody thoughtfully paused for a moment and said, "Ah, the food in Wanda Wyatt is good, but what I really dig are the new leather couches in the business building!" Nah, pretty much everyone primarily mentioned their love for the profs. I'm no exception. The Semantic was born in September because a lot of us were afraid that The Cadre wouldn't reappear. We were afraid we'd have no forum to vent our frustration that our favourite professor, Neil Cruickshank, was not being offered a tenure track position at the university because of, among other reasons, a grudge between the administration and the political studies faculty. There was internal debate over what to do-- our profs, notably, held us back from any real action-- but it was assumed that another tenured track position would be established and we had hoped Cruickshank would reapply. We didn't want to squash his chances in re-application by making a big fuss. But now, oh, but now! The poli sci faculty cannot effectively function without a fourth prof. As it stands now, students cannot take courses in International Relations (which, come on, is easily the most fascinating branch of poli sci) in a level above 2nd year. This is akin to UPEI cutting out plant biology and still trying to offer a competitive biology degree: it's damn near impossible to compete with bigger universities. As a transfer student, I left my reputable university to come home and enjoy the intimate atmosphere, while retaining the pursuit of some sort of quality education. UPEI has let me down. At least I saved money, right?
At any rate, there's something inherently wrong with cutting profs from the department that spends most of its time studying revolutions. Students pay tuition for education, not copper buildings. Students love UPEI for the faculty. Students deserve their money's worth. The best business decision to make in a recession is not one that pisses off the customers and overworks the staff. Remember that, UPEI.
KM
