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AMS fall referendum statements F R I D AY , O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 3 — I S S U E 1 5
J THE OURNAL QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY — SINCE 1873
Speakers come to campus Ontario Conservative Party leader Tim Hudak and activist Maude Barlow host campus talks on Wednesday page 2 and 4
ACADEMICS
CITY OF KINGSTON
School looks to suspend program
Survey criticized Shelter workers question accuracy of city-run survey
School of Religion proposes to halt programs to combat low admissions B Y A BBY A NDREW AND VINCENT B EN M ATAK Journal Staff With a decline in applications, the School of Religion has unanimously requested to temporarily suspend admissions to its theology programs for two years. The Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Studies and Bachelor of Theology are the three programs at risk of suspension. The Master’s in Religious Studies program is not being considered as part of the proposal, which was put forward to the Faculty on Oct. 11. “If a decision is made to temporarily suspend theology program admissions, the School of Religion will continue to offer a full complement of theology courses until August 2015,” Richard Ascough, the director of
the School of Religion, told the Journal via email. This will ensure that full-time students currently enrolled in the programs are able to fulfill their degree requirements as planned, despite a decrease in admission rates and a possible suspension, he added. In 2006, 25 students enrolled in the programs, dropping to 15 in 2012. This year, only one student was admitted. A minimum requirement of 30 full-time students is necessary to maintain a sustainable program at Queen’s. Ascough said these trends aren’t exclusive to Queen’s. “Over the past decade, there has been a noticeable declining trend in applications to theology programs across North America,” he said. Despite the efforts of the See Chaplain on page 5
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Worlds collide
Arts
Hollerado, The Zolas and Born Ruffians page 14
Sports
Gold rush for rugby page 20
B Y O LIVIA B OWDEN S EBASTIAN L ECK Journal Staff
AND
Kingston shelter workers are criticizing the methodology of a city-run homelessness survey administered Wednesday night. The survey, which was organized by United Way Kingston and the City of Kingston’s Housing Department, was administered to gather data on homeless demographics in the city, concentrating on the downtown areas. The City plans to use the data collected to direct their plans for housing as well as the development of social programs. Volunteers consisting of United Way members, shelter workers, Queen’s students and members of the Kingston community were assigned different areas to survey. The areas were categorized as low, medium or high-risk areas depending on safety risks to volunteers. Those who completed the survey were given a bag containing a Tim Hortons gift card, a granola bar, chapstick, a bus pass, a juice box as well as contact information for the See Homeless on page 6