NYC and Me!

I’m a rebel, born and raised. I never take no for an answer and I never let people tell me who I should be. So, at the ripe age of 14, when all my mentors were telling me what a great lawyer I’d make and suggesting the top schools in Canada I should start considering, I immediately dismissed them.

Seven years in school to wear funny robes and argue for a living? Nah, I was going to be a writer.

I’d always loved writing. In fact, when I was only 12 my cousin and I tried to write a novel together. Being so young, however, our novel quickly lost our interest.

But I’ve never stopped writing and I’ve never stopped loving it.

Once I started to mature and actually pay attention to the world, I decided journalism would be a perfect endeavor. I grew up in a small town so I was relatively out of the loop. But I started to inform myself. I made a habit of watching and reading the news. I could never get enough.

My passion for writing was now combined with a passion to tell the world the reality of what was happening. No fluff or lies. Just plain and simple: the truth.

Once I got to St. Thomas and started in television training, I found another passion: the technical work. I’ve grown extremely fond of playing around with cameras and editing stories.

Thus, my passions have molded into a tripod of desires: write, discover the truth, and play with cameras.

But I suppose one could say that’s not entirely accurate because on top of it all I want to travel. I’ve had the pleasure of travelling quite a lot throughout my life to Europe, Cuba, across Canada and several states.

It only seems fitting then, that I someday become a foreign correspondent.

Now for some technical mumbo-jumbo:

I’m a third year student.

I’m majoring in Journalism and Sociology.

I’m taking minors in Political Science and History.

St. Thomas University’s Harrington Hall dormitory is no longer dry. A liquor ban imposed in the building in December has been lifted. New regulations have been put in place to control disorderly drinking. Students are both pleased with the ban, and its removal. Tony Peter-Paul has the story.

Harrington Hall is known as the notorious party residence at St. Thomas University. After six weeks of being prohibited from having alcohol in the dorm, students brought a new proposal to the table. The house committee met with the dean of students on Friday to discuss the ban. Caitlin Doiron, the house president recommended four new stipulations, if the ban was to be lifted.

“No more drinking in the lounges, guests have to leave at moderate quite hours opposed to normal quite hours which is ten on weekdays and 12 on weekends. No more open liquor in the hallways. If you have a can or bottle, it has to be closed. You can transport it from room to room, but once it’s opened, it can’t leave, or you have to leave the drink and come back for it. And guests who are unescorted are going to be asked to leave.”

The ban was first put in place after several reported incidents of fire extinguishers being tampered with, broken glass bottles on the floors, and bathrooms being vandalized.

“I think it was a good thing. All-in-all it was really good. It cleaned up the place a lot. I feel as though the residence will be more respectful and the place will be cleaner now that they know that they can lose such a privilege. I was all for it. It happened right before exams too, there is no better time. You shouldn’t be drinking two weeks before exams anyways. And it got lifted pretty much as soon as we got back.”

“I thought the ban was a good idea because it kind of taught the house we need to pull up our game and learn some respect. And I think the house learned their lesson and I think we deserve the freedom to be able to drink again.”

Since the ban, there have been only two reported incidents of alcohol on the premises. Now that the ban is lifted, Harrington residents can enjoy a drink while keeping in mind the consequences of  disrespectful behavior. For STU Journalism, I’m Tony Peter-Paul.

Members of the Fredericton community are meeting here at James Dunn Hall each Tuesday to hear St. Thomas University and University of New Brunswick professors speak on social justice issues in our city

What started on New York’s Wall Street on September 17 has gained momentum in Fredericton.

While protesters are no longer occupying the side walk in from of city hall, the occupy movement is alive and well in the Fredericton community.

Matthew Hayes and John Gilbert-Walsh, both St. Thomas University professors, have put together a speakers series that is set to run twice a week until February 25.

“There’s been a lot of interest, people are interested in finding other way to show their support for occupy and for policies that will support greater levels of equality, because not everybody is gonna go camp downtown.”

The talks are open to students and the general public.

Tuesday sessions will take place on the St. Thomas campus while Saturday sessions will be downtown at Conserver house on St. John Street.

Hayes is the first speaker in the series. His talk is titled Occupy Tuition: What Students Can Learn from the Occupy Movement.

Debate and discussion is encouraged at these events.

Mary-Dan Johnston took part in the demonstrations downtown and has followed the movement to the classroom.

“Obviously it was really important for students and faculty and staff in the university community but there are lectures upcoming on food production and forestry in New Brunswick, there may be one on shale gas, but these issues we have to deal with everyday. Rather than thinking of them as our individual problems we can take action to try and solve them.”

In his talk Hayes explained that this movement was created and pursued by the people. He encouraged attendees to mobilize. Occupy may be out of sight, but in Fredericton, it’s certainly not out of mind.

“Yes, I spoke with Amy MacKenzie, a student journalist at the conference and one of about 150 people who got sick with the Norovirus. She told us about her experience.”

“When you’re that sick, I could barely lift my phone let alone get off the floor. I have bruises on my legs from collapsing on the bathroom floor. It was like, you had no energy and it was the worst feeling in the world.”

Norovirus is a stomach bug that causes vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain for one to two days.

It is highly contagious and spreads quickly, especially through close communities like schools, hospitals, and in this case, conferences.

Over 300 people from across the country were at the Canadian University Press conference in Victoria, British Columbia.

About half of them became sick, and 11 people were taken to hospital to be treated for dehydration.

“I wasn’t sure if I was feeling sick or if it was just paranoia because everyone around us was sick and we were all in this one room and we didn’t want to leave the room. But then one by one people started feeling sick.”

The virus is usually spread through improperly prepared food.

One of the best ways to prevent it is through frequent hand washing with soap and water.

Hilary Smith was involved in the planning of the conference and helped take care of people who were sick.
“We were all given hand sanitzer, and face masks, and gloves, and we were going door to door offering people Gatorade and crackers and Tylenol and Gravol for some that, we y’know needed to quell their nausea.”

Those who were able to tweeted from the confines of their hotel rooms, and conference organizers used the popular social media site to pass on information about the outbreak.

People at the conference have returned home. For STU Journalism, I’m Aleisha Bosch.

Administration employees and teachers are uncertain about  what will change after  the   amalgamation  of the school  districts in New Brunswick.

The government announced two weeks ago its plans to reduce the administration cost, by cutting the districts to half and laying off employees.  The plan is to save five million dollars every year that will go into classroom learning.

Makedonia Koutsoumpeli  has the first reactions to this ambitious plan.

By the end of the school year, schools in New Brunswick will face an operational challenge because the government plans to reduce administration costs.

What the future brings, is larger school districts and up to twenty-five per cent less administration staff.

Up to 100 district employees will lose their jobs. The remaining 300 to 325 employees will have the bulk of work for a larger number of schools in larger areas.

“Clearly this has been researched and there has been consultation prior to the changes that are being made, but as with any change  It takes 3-5 years to realise and to evaluate and determine if it was the best decision. At this point we are all going to work together to ensure it was the best decision.” -Dianne Wilkins, District 18 Superintendent 

District Education councils have little information on how the new plan will work out :which positions will be cut, which offices will be closed and how seven instead of fourteen districts will cover the needs of more than 320 schools across the province.

For example, the proposed new district for Fredericton will include schools from Oromocto and Woodstock up to Edmundston.

Teachers are also concerned about how their work will be affected.

“There are going to be fewer district offices, where are they going to be situated, how is that going to change my access to the support that I need, in terms of payroll or transportation… , as a principle you are in daily contact with someone at district office. That concern is there and then the concern how it is going to affect schools down the road.” -Heather Smith,  President of New Brunswick Teacher’s Association (NBTA)

The Department of Education said the cuts reflect the fifteen percent decline of the student population in the past ten years.

As operation costs rise every year, New Brunswick can no longer afford to have twice as many school districts as other Atlantic provinces.

Minister of Education Jody Carr said five million dollars will be saved every year , which will be invested in classrooms, instead of administration

“This is not a traditional cost-cutting  exercise but a way that we can reinvent and be creative and do better with the dollars we have.” – Jody Carr, Minister of Education

The Liberals expect to see money put towards education instead of cuts.

“The Alward government had promised more teachers more support stuff and more curriculum support in the classrooms and so far we haven’t seen that.” - Victor Boudreau,  Leader of Official Opposition

Teachers also want to participate in decisions for money spent towards classrooms.

“It is an investment in our future and we need to make sure that the money that is potentially saved by this amalgamations is invested back into schools and classrooms and support for students.”- Heather Smith,  President of New Brunswick Teachers Association (NBTA)

The amalgamation is planned to be completed in the summer. But  it will be just the beginning of further changes that the government plans in areas of school services and school use.

For STU Journalism, I am Makedonia Koutsoumpeli.

Well, fifteen year-old Sam Walsh has become a household name around Prince Edward Island. I recently visited the hometown hockey hero to talk about his journey to success. Walsh is one of seventeen hockey players selected to represent Canada at the Youth Olympics in Austria.

The Canadian players did not practice together until they arrived in Austria. But that wasn’t a problem. During this game against Austria, Walsh saved sixteen goals and led the team to a nine nothing win. Walsh says he did not expect to chosen to represent Canada at such a young age.

“I mean playing for team Canada has always been a dream of mine and it’s basically a dream come true.” When he was six-years-old he realized he wanted to play hockey…something his mom was not thrilled about.

“I remember the day that Sam asked if he could play hockey. I wasn’t going to have my kids at the rink. We were going to do other things. And one day coming home from the babysitters, Sam was in grade one, he said, “could I play hockey?” And we have never looked back.”

It’s not all fun and games though. Walsh dedicates a lot of time to his school work.

“It’s very time consuming, but you just got to make the most every time you get  off and get school in.”

In school, Walsh is a model student. His parents are happy to see him growing into a well-rounded young man.

“We’re very proud of him, were very proud of him for the fact that he’s taking on the role of a leader in his group of friends and whatever.”

Walsh wants to inspire children to work hard and achieve their dreams. His advice for them…

“Just stick to it. I mean you have to try your hardest everyday to get better. Basically if you stick your mind to it you can do almost anything you want.”

Walsh hopes that this is just the beginning of a fulfilling hockey career. For STU Journalism, I’m Kara Cousins.

I am a music, arts and fashion lover. That’s why, I wanted to be a music or fashion journalist in the beginning. But my interest in journalism became stronger after I watched reporters on BBC and Al-Jazeera report  from the frontlines of conflict. My dream job is to be an international correspondent for a big news company or to be a diplomat for my country in the UN.

Last year, I wrote in the Aquinian. I love the work and fun that surrounds journalism, and I am excited and ready for more of it.

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