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A howling loss Mustangs lose to Lakehead Thunderwolves 90–52 >> pg. 8
thegazette Shadowing since 1906
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
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canada’s only Daily Student Newspaper • founded 1906
Volume 106, Issue 61
McGill Daily, admin spar over info access Aaron Zaltzman News Editor A motion filed by McGill University requesting to disregard Access to Information requests from students on campus has The McGill Daily student newspaper crying foul, saying the motion is to restrict the university’s accountability and transparency. The motion, submitted to the Commission d’accès à l’information du Quebec, cited an inability to deal with the amount and scope of the ATI requests pouring in from McGill’s student body, and requested permission to deny requests that are overly broad or cumbersome. “The main thing [the motion] does is requests to disregard current ATI requests as well as future ones,” Lola Duffort, news editor at The McGill Daily, said. “It says any future ATI requests filed by the Daily, somebody associated with the Daily or any student of McGill can be disregarded if it fits some of the characteristics listed in the motion.” Duffort called the motion “worrisome.” “I think this is about McGill wanting to get out from under the Access to Information laws,” she said.
However, the University defended the motion, arguing it was a way to deal with a “systematic” crush of ATI requests coming from the student body, which ballooned from 37 in 2011 to 170 in 2012. The motion named 14 individuals, some of whom are associated with the Daily, who the University alleges used the ATI requests “essentially as a retaliation measure against McGill in the aftermath of the 2011-12 student protests.” “There are provisions in the law on Access to Information to allow us to make such a request when we feel that the request would create a serious disruption to normal activities when they are too broad in scope, and basically abusive by their nature,” Julie Fortier, associate director of media relations at McGill University, explained. However, Queen Arsem-O’Malley, coordinating editor of the Daily, said the measure undermines transparency at the university. “It’s worrisome that this is how the University would react to people trying to investigate things,” ArsemO’Malley said. “I think it’s shown everybody how McGill sees its students and especially its student press.”
Courtesy of The McGill Daily IN THE DARK. The cover of The McGill Daily’s January 21 issue shed light upon the university’s proposed changes to
filling Access to Information requests for the paper.
‘Windsor hum’ calls to Western prof Kaitlyn Oh Gazette Staff The Government of Canada has agreed to fund a study on the ‘Windsor hum’—an airborne lowfrequency acoustic hum originating from some sort of industrial work in Michigan, according to a report released by Natural Resources Canada. Western and the University of Windsor will conduct a joint study. Gary Grosse, founder of the Facebook group the Windsor/Essex County Hum, described the hum to be a range of sounds from a low rumbling to a pulsing drone. “There are several sounds
associated with [the Windsor hum]. One of them is a rumbling hum that is constant,” he said. “There is also a more intense low-frequency pulse that sounds like ‘whomp, whomp, whomp.’” “There are other noises as well— sounds like exhaust and sounds like a furnace or something of the sort,” Grosse said. The sound is more than just a mild buzzing. “It’s very disruptive,” Grosse said. “You have to compete to have a conversation or watch television. The pulses are intense enough to rattle cupboards or wake people up.” To determine the source of the sound, Peter Brown, a Western
You have to compete to have a conversation or watch television. The pulses are intense enough to rattle cupboards or wake people up. —Gary Grosse
Founder of Facebook group regarding Windsor hum
professor participating in the study, and his team will use specialized microphones to detect infrasound—sounds below the human hearing range. “When we detect a signal consistent with the character of the hum we can use the signal arrival information to produce a direction to the source,” Brown said. “By using cross bearings—the two sightlines from each array—we should be able to narrow down the source region of the hum.” To fund the study, the government will invest $60,000 over a 10-month period. “Our government takes this issue seriously and is following up on its
commitment to find a solution that works for the people of Windsor,” Bob Dechert, parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, said in a statement. “We want to protect citizens’ quality of life. To get a solution, we first need to find the source,” Dechert said. After two years of petitioning the government to address the issue, Grosse and other Windsor residents were glad to hear this announcement. “What an incredible relief to know that the government has taken the issue seriously,” Grosse said. “They’ve definitely come on board. We’re very pleased with it.”