SHAIDS OF GREY
Andy reviews Hamilton’s powerful play and delves into the play’s honest and heart-felt portrayal of the plight of those infected. Andy, D7
www.thesil.ca
McMASTER UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER / THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010
Est. 1930
VOLUME 80, NO. 26
Mac quick to respond to allegations against Bates JEFF GREEN
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
AVA DIDEBAN / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Recent changes in OSAP, which were announced on Mar. 25, include adding 1,000 new graduate scholarships, the introduction of a six-month interest-free period following graduation, and doubling the student income exemption. JEFF GREEN
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
The Ontario government rolled out changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) this past Monday, including $80 million to the student loan program in an effort to put more money in students’ pockets. The changes come on the heels of the Ontario budget, released on Mar. 25, which included $310 million in funding to create an additional 20,000 student spots this fall. The Ontario government aims to graduate 70 per cent of the population in post-secondary institutions, aligning itself with the expectation that 70 per cent of jobs will require a post-secondary degree. The changes to OSAP help students in a variety of ways. Highlights included raising the OSAP lending limits, adding 1,000 new graduate scholarships, adding a six-month interest free period of the loan following graduation and doubling the student income exemption from $50 to $100 per week.
The changes incited mixed re- announcement means that students sponse across the province. can now accumulate $29,200 in The Ontario Undergradu- student debt upon the completion ate Student Alliance immediately of a four-year degree.” praised the changes, calling it a John Milloy, the minister for “victory.” training, colleges and universities “Acting dirattributed the chanectly on the recges to OSAP to the ommendations of OUSA lobbying the Ontario Under- The changes come group. “It’s an acgraduate Student on the heels of the knowledgment by Alliance (OUSA), the government that Ontario budget, the McGuinty govwe have a partnerreleased on Mar. ship with students,” ernment today announced a package 25, which included said Milloy. of improvements to McMaster Stu$310 million in Ontario’s system of dents Union (MSU) funding to create vice student financial aid president that will increase an additional 20,000 (education) Chris the accessibility of Martin declared the student spots. higher education changes to OSAP, for those with the “an undisputable greatest need,” read an OUSA press victory for students.” The MSU are release following the announce- full members of the OUSA advoment. cacy group. The Canadian Federation of CFS executive director Alexi Students (CFS) interpreted the an- White, was not echoing the sentinouncement the opposite way. In an ments of Minister Milloy and interview with the Canadian Uni- OUSA. “Students in Ontario conversity Press, Ontario chairperson tinue to pay the highest fees in the Shelley Melanson said, “Today’s country,” said White, in a release.
Students will stand to receive an extra $10 per week, but there is no plan to tie the maximum amount of the loan to increases in tuition and inflation. “It would eventually become a problem of capital for the government. Though loan money is paid back, increasing the loan maximums every year would mean the government would need to find more up-front capital to support it every year,” said the MSU’s Martin. Conversely, he applauded the move to tie textbook costs to inflation. “With textbook money provided through OSAP now indexed to inflation, the rising costs of textbooks will be covered,” said Martin. “However, we have received no indications that the OSAP maximums will increase yearly to cover tuition increases. This points to the importance of dealing with the core issue facing our university system: dealing with the spiraling costs of our education that necessitate these tuition increases,” elaborated Martin.
“Action must be taken to effect a positive change in the collegiality and functioning of the School of Business,” said McMaster President Peter George in response to allegations of discrimination and harassment at the School of Business, and more specifically, at its Dean, Paul Bates. The Office of Human Rights & Equity Services conducted an audit, after Provost and Vice President (academic) Ilene Busch-Vishniac received several allegations by faculty at the School of Business, of which neither their names or their number were provided. The audit is quick to point out that Bates is well respected by the industry outside of McMaster, seen as an, “expert” in his field, and has an overwhelming amount of support from the students of the School of Business. The audit described a dysfunctional work environment within the business school that has caused some faculty to seek therapy and medication to deal with stress associated with the job. “Faculty members have repeatedly stated that the School is divided into two camps: those who identify as being supportive of the Dean and those who are identified as dissenters opposed to the Dean’s leadership,” stated the audit. The 22-page audit outlined a history of problems, pitting the faculty against the dean of the School of Business, extending prior to Bates’ term. The disputes against Bates fall under six categories: the Dean’s credentials, objections to his reappointment, expansion to the Burlington campus, Governance issues, the • PLEASE SEE OPINIONS, A5
Desire2Learn to replace ELM Lakeport shutdown
leaves 143 out of work
JEFF GREEN
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
JEFFREY TAM / THE SILHOUETTE
The Centre for Leadership and Learning held a presentation regarding the new changes for McMaster’s online management system on Mar. 29 in Council Chambers. FARZEEN FODA
SILHOUETTE STAFF
McMaster University’s management system, ELM (E-Learn@ Mac), will be replaced by a new system from an outside company— Desire2Learn—beginning in September 2010. ELM was initially launched in September 2009 as the new learning management system, and was expected to satisfy the growing demands at McMaster University. Instead, the system faced a host of problems which deterred it from
achieving that goal. On Monday, Mar. 29, the Centre for Leadership and Learning (CLL) held a presentation in Gilmour Hall 111 to discuss a plan of action toward correcting the ELM experience, which involves the switch to a different learning management system: Desire2Learn. Desire2Learn will be a “basic, stable, and reliable management system,” according to CCL. Susan Vajoczki, acting director at CLL, said. “For September 2010, to ensure that we have a stable, robust functioning system at McMaster,
we will no longer support the Blackboard product in September and we will be moving to Desire2Learn.” The university of Guelph and Mohawk College as well as several other large institutions like McMaster have claimed to have had positive long term experiences with Desire2Learn. Desire2Learn offers an intermediate between ELM and WebCT, combining the attractive interface and ease of use of ELM alongside • PLEASE SEE MIXED, A5
In an all too familiar story, a foreign-owed company was forced to close its Hamilton production plant to keep efficiency afloat. As of Apr. 30, 2010, Lakeport’s Burlington Street plant will close, taking 143 Hamilton jobs with it. Lakeport was sold in 2007 by philanthropist Teresa Cascioli to Labatt Canada. Many feared that the Lakeport plant would be closed by Labatt in an effort to shut out the discount beer market. The three-year fear became a reality with a decision that was made in the United States, specifically Labatt’s parent company, InBev. InBev completed their purchase of American Beer giant AnheuserBusch, however part of the deal forced InBev to sell of Labatt USA. “[The US tribunal] ruled that Labatt products sold in the United States needed to be brewed in the United States,” said McMaster business professor Marvin Ryder, “So that meant, where London had been brewing all of this beer for shipment in the United States, that volume got transferred to a plant [in
the USA].” The InBev deal, completed Mar. 29, left Labatt’s London plant with a lot of idle capacity, but Labatt “will continue to produce Lakeport beer at our brewery in London, Ontario,” according to the brewer. Labatt cited their highly efficient London plant, and Ryder also noted that they owned their London plant while the Burlington Street plant is leased from Hamilton Port Authority. In a comment that will most certainly leave many Hamiltonians with a sour taste in their mouth, Cascioli said Labatt “made the right call.” Councillor Bob Bratina has called for a local Labatt boycott, and organized a rally outside the brewery on Thursday, Apr. 1. The building is zoned for food and drink production, but it is unlikely that another brewer would move into the building. Labatt plans to strip the brewing equipment from the plant, muting the chance that another craft brewer could easily move into the Lakeport spot. Before Labatt’s purchase of Lakeport in 2007, the plant won awards for its efficiency; Labatt has stated that the Burlington street plant is its least efficient facility.