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Foodie Uni: Comparing Canada’s cafeterias F R I D AY , S E P T E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 3 — I S S U E 6
THE JOURNAL QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY — SINCE 1873
AMS
RESEARCH
Fall executive review
Strike vote to be held
Berkok, Pritchard and Plummer discuss progress on platform initiatives
Post-doctoral fellows discuss benefit options
B Y VINCENT B EN M ATAK News Editor Four months into their term, the AMS executive has put the wheels in motion for most of the initiatives outlined in their election platform. The team’s vision, which was developed in February with Eril Berkok, Thomas Pritchard and Peter Green running as Team BGP, has yet to shift since the induction of Nicola Plummer as vice-president of operations in March, the team said. Plummer, who ran alongside the opposing Team TNL, was inducted into the role of vice-president by AMS Assembly following the resignation of Green in February. “It’s not as much that she came into the role, it’s that we all came into the role and we said we’d rather do it this way,” Pritchard said. “The core ideas and values have never changed.” The team admitted that some of the big-budget items listed in their 55-page platform won’t come to fruition until much later than anticipated. This includes the ambitious blue light and Queen’s WiFi expansion projects into the areas around campus. Other initiatives, such as the revitalization of the AMS Health and Dental Plan and LGBTQ Thursdays at The Underground, have proved too unrealistic to be fulfilled as originally planned. Despite this, the team has undertaken several projects unlisted in the document, including several corporate service revamps overseen by Plummer, as well as appealing the City of Kingston’s decision to exclude students in the population tally for the Ontario Municipal Board. The Journal reviewed the team’s progress since their term began on May 1, based on their platform. Blue light expansion The AMS executive originally planned to expand blue lights through City and Victoria Parks in the summer. Work on the project has been halted, however, to arrange meetings with Kingston Police Chief Gilles Larochelle. Larochelle began his term as chief in July, making arrangements to carry through with the summer
See Expanding on page 6
B Y A BBY A NDREW Assistant News Editor
Cross-country
In a sport of endurance and mental fortitude, strategy and stamina are equally important PAGE 13
With post-doctoral fellows diving deep into research, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is urging them to take a step back and fight for the benefits they say they deserve. For the past three days, post-doctoral fellows at Queen’s have met on campus to seek a strike mandate for their members — a measure they claim will allow them access to the same benefits as other campus full-time employees. The meetings serve as the last opportunity for post-doctoral fellows to exercise their right to vote on whether or not their group will go on strike. PSAC is one of Canada’s largest unions and represents workforces throughout Canada. The bargaining unit of postdoctoral fellows consists of approximately 200 people, with a large presence on campus through research. “We are the only full-time employees that don’t have dental benefits ... we can’t even join the dental plan from the university without paying from our own pocket,” Abdi Ghaffari, a post-doctoral fellow for the Cancer Research Institute and a member of the bargaining team, said. In addition, the post-doctoral fellows are not offered child-care benefits or a set baseline for their salary. Regular wage increases are See 150 on page 4
Inside this issue: Zoë Belkin
We interview the Queen’s student and actress page 12
Looking ahead after frosh chants PAGE 9
Cycling
The cycling team open their title defence this Sunday in Barrie page 14
Move-in messages
The Journal sounds in on an attention-grabbing sign page 7
Artful paranoia PAGE 10