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The Brunswickan
Volume 141 Issue 7 • Canada’s Oldest Official Student Publication • UNB Fredericton’s Student Paper • Oct. 17, 2007
Irving tries to silence competition
Nothing to Hide
Becoming green: Campus Sustainability Day by Naomi Osborne
by Lauren Kennedy
A Woodstock man is accused of using confidential documents from a newspaper he used to work for to allegedly steal the competition from Brunswick News, which is owned by J. D. Irving Limited. William Kenneth Langdon worked as the general manager for the Woodstock paper The Bugle-Observer for ten years. He recently resigned on September 19 and according to his court affidavit, his statement of facts for the case, he had a goal of starting his own independent newspaper around August 23. Once the Irving-owned Brunswick News officials got hold of this information, their lawyers immediately took Langdon to court. The request was eventually withdrawn, whereas now, Irving wants to issue a case against Langdon, preventing him from approaching Bugle-Observer customers in the area. ‘The Bugle’ was sold to Brunswick News in 2003, and Brunswick News shortly after bought the paper in Hartland, close to Woodstock, ‘The Observer’. The two papers’ staff was eventually combined into one office located in Woodstock. According to Brunswick News, there is a contract one must sign when working for their papers, agreeing not to disclose any secrets or information relating to the company. Irving claims Langdon signed this document. Irving officials, not the police, in hopes of finding documents that could prove his intention to start a paper that contained information regarding this purpose, searched Langdon’s own home, office, and vehicle. This rarely used order is issued to allow private searches. Numerous Bugle-related documents were seized, including advertising analysis sheets, flyer routes, résumés, etc. Langdon claims the papers that were seized were of no value to starting his own paper, it was simply work that he had brought home as a key senior official working for the Bugle-Observer. In his resignation letter, he claims he mentioned his personal intentions of starting an independent paper. “They went through piles of documents, they went through my desk drawers, they went through everything that was on and in the filing cabinet,” Langdon told CBC News in an interview. In a letter to the court, Langdon mentioned he was growing uncomfortable with the management practices of the company and particularly those that were designed to drive the competitors out of business. In an interview with CBC Langdon stated, “I had no idea that this would result in this type of, well, I feel it’s been a smear campaign against me personally and the paper by extension.” Brunswick News’ statement of claim says that due to the results of Langdon actions, the company “will suffer extensive loss and damage.” Brunswick News is the owner of all the English daily newspapers in the province as well as all the French and English weekly papers, except for the Sackville Tribune and the St. Croix Courier. Langdon was contacted several times by The Brunswickan, but would not comment. A court date is set for October 19.
Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan
Matthew Good performed at the Playhouse on Saturday night to a packed house. Good held the audience with reworked classics from his back catalogue and his latest creative endeavour, ‘Hospital Music’. He commented on his website, matthewgood.org, that Fredericton was “...easily one of the top-five shows of the tour. To be honest, I didn’t want to get off stage“. The ‘Nothing to Hide’ tour continues Wednesday in Ottawa.
Bed Push: Don’t stop believin’ by Josh O’Kane
Two days from now, 100 residents from Neville/Jones House will set forth from Saint John to push a bed 106 kilometers to Fredericton. For 15 years, the Bed Push has been a fundraising tradition for the Neville Norsemen, who continued it after the amalgamation with the Gentlemen of Jones in 2006. The public fundraising goal this
he was Educational Proctor. Now the Assistant Don, he continues to assist in the organization of the event. Door-todoor canvassing is the primary source of income for Bed Push, he says. The peak of the canvassing action happened on Saturday in the house’s second annual ‘Drive for Five’ event. “I was conceived last year when we didn’t think we were going to make our goal,” says Ouellette. “On the Saturday before Bed Push we would raise $5,000. We ended up pulling out more than $5,000.” The event was such a success last year because it combines the effort of the entire house, he says. “A lot of students who want to fundraise don’t have time to do it during the week. While they really want to go out
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year is $20,000, says Assistant Don Nick Ouellette. Last year the goal was $17,000, which the house far surpassed. This year, though, the house had only reached $12,000 by last Sunday. Will the Norse Gentlemen be able to pull through? Ouellette believes so. Nick Ouellette is in his seventh year in the house, and was the coordinator of Bed Push for three of those years while
and fundraise, they’re not able to find the time. This one day is where pretty much everyone in the house goes out. The only people who aren’t are out of town or playing on sports teams. Everybody else in the house is going fundraising.” This year’s Drive for Five raised just over the intended $5,000, though exact numbers are not yet available. Though canvassing with a goal of
$20,000 can be a bit intimidating, Ouellette says that the groups of four are organized to make sure each team knows the ropes. Team leaders are selected from returning students, primarily in their second year, to head up each group that goes out. “That way we don’t have groups of four first year students doing this on their own,” explains Ouellette. “It’s working out really well. We have phenomenal group leaders. We’ve got a pretty well established system for what we do.” A great deal of work is going on behind the scenes. Evan Scott, Educational Proctor for the House, is the coordinator of door-to-door efforts. Chris Bursey and Chad Robertson, two senior residents of the Neville/Jones, are coordinating the back-end details, says Ouellette. Robertson, a Hall Proctor, was the highest fundraiser last year, pulling close to $2,000. The combined House set out in full force last year, raising $25,500 – more than any previous year. It has become a tradition of the combined House this year, after the official conversion of Jones House into a Student Services building. All proceeds go to the Fredericton Women in Transition House to assist with programs that help women and families get back on their feet. For the second year in a row, Aitken House’s team won the flag football competition and donated the prize proceeds back to Bed Push. Aitken House and Lady Dunn Hall have also been donating their recyclables to the Neville/Jones Bed Push since the beginning of the year. “I probably can’t say enough good things about Aitken and how they work for other charities on campus,” says Ouellette. Bed Push is only two days away. Though the goal of $20,000 has not yet been reached, Ouellette has complete faith that Neville/Jones will attain their goal. “People inevitably embrace it for the end… It’s time to commit ourselves.”
Although everyone these days are aware of global warming and climate change, but how many people actually take the initiative to improve the environment? Many would rather shrug the warning signs off for fear that if heed is taken, it might mean sacrificing personal luxuries. UNB will be hosting a Campus Sustainability Day on October 24. This is part of a national event of which other Canadian universities are taking part to help educate and engage students in sustainability efforts. This is a perfect opportunity for students to become aware of the changes that need to be made. Climate Change Research Assistant for UNB’s Environment & Sustainable Development Research Centre (ESDRC) Greg LeBlanc has been working to create environmental awareness amongst the public. UNB has recently made immense efforts to reduce energy emissions such as reducing their water use, allowing only green cleaning products, and not using any herbicides or pesticides on grass. LeBlanc hopes everyone will try these steps. “I’ve met with administrators of the university and other people around the city and they have no idea,” says LeBlanc, “so that shows me that there’s a need for awareness.” By devoting a day to sustainability, people will hopefully be provided with awareness of the matter. He also wishes to show the community what they are
your wallet a bit heavier during the Christmas months. “The first step is to reduce our energy consumption, which saves money on power bills, and ultimately reduces greenhouse gases,” says LeBlanc. “The other step is to really engage people in the process of saying ‘Hey, if they’ve done that, what’s the next step?’” UNB has taken great measures to reduce their energy consumption and become a role model for other universities. According to University Statistics, from the period of 2000-04, UNB had reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 22%. “If things continue, then we are on our way to beating Kyoto, which is an even more positive message,” said LeBlanc. In the Student Union Building alone, energy consumption has been reduced by 50% over the last few years. Water consumption has also been reduced by 50%. This displays how much energy can be saved in average, everyday buildings. Most people, says LeBlanc, just walk through these buildings and never really notice any energy saving efforts being made. Locally, universities are not the only ones getting involved in the green effort. The City of Fredericton is also making an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge being taken on by the city is called ‘Green Matters’; where the idea is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today so that we can lessen our impact on climate change tomorrow. Many steps that people can take are small and do not require strenuous effort. Simply flicking off a light switch when you leave a room, not idling your vehicle, and shutting off your computer are little things but they all add up to something big, says LeBlanc. Green Matters has set a community goal for Fredericton residents to reduce their emissions by 6% before 2010. Though that may be a few years off, LeBlanc is positive that the public will
Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan
doing to get people involved in the process, says LeBlanc. “The idea is that the day will hopefully be a catalyst for more activity on campus,” explains LeBlanc. The day will see events set up where people can come and go as they please. Peter Corbin will present relevant issues with the ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ slideshow. Corbin worked with Al Gore to prepare the material for this presentation. There will also be workshops set up to educate students on how to save energy and what cleaning products are best to use for the environment. Tours will be set up so students can take half an hour and walk around campus and see some of the efforts that have already been taking place, says LeBlanc. For those students living in apartments, the winter months are coming up and so are the power bills. One aim of Sustainability Day is to give students tips on how to save energy and make
be able to make that goal happen. UNB is already becoming a leader in the efforts to help eliminate climate change. Major organizations such as Efficiency New Brunswick have been invited to attend Campus Sustainability Day and to share the efforts they are making and how those tie in with what UNB is doing. The expectation is that this one day will become an annual event. If it is successful, students will be able to build on the achievements of the previous year to keep the university in a positive direction. “Although it is one day, hopefully the impact will be much longer,” says LeBlanc, “so that in the future, the community will be able to prosper from that engagement.” For more information regarding Campus Sustainability Day, or to see what UNB is doing to become more sustainable, check out www.unbcampussustainability.ca.