CELEBRATING 20 1 0
1910
YEARS
volume CI number 42
inside
the official student newspaper at the university of alberta
Deputy News Editor
Living with addiction means dealing with a desire you can’t control, though not always drugs. feature, Page 12
Adding to 13
thursday, march 24, 2011
Campus Saint-Jean parking lot faces local opposition Simon Yackulic
Under the spell
www.thegatewayonline.ca
The University of Alberta’s plan to create a parking lot at Campus SaintJean has continued to generate controversy, facing heavy contention by the surrounding community. The U of A’s proposal for the 100car lot would be built over an existing soccer field to increase parking options for the satellite campus, which has 750 students and 150 staff, but only 22 onsite parking stalls. The plan would leave room for soccer, with the development only taking up part of the field. The Bonnie Doon Community League is firmly opposed, and their executive passed a motion suggesting that the U of A use already existing parking options in the area and develop underground parking instead. Students have currently been parking mostly off campus; however, the city has enacted a parking ban for non-residents on selected streets around the school. Some residents are concerned that a new parking lot would bring with it increased traffic, safety issues, and environmental concerns.
Nancy Rempel, the president of the Bonnie Doon Community League, said that community residents were hoping for clearer direction from the university, after the U of A’s representative was unable to attend the community league meeting last Thursday. “They didn’t attend, but they said that they’re still gathering information,” Rempel said. “We just hope that the university makes a decision soon, because residents are anxious. The sooner we know what’s going on, we can all get on with our lives.” The Bonnie Doon Community League’s motion reads, “We neither support the development of parking options that are priced below market rates nor the development of parking through public sector debt financing. We support the preservation of public-sector green space within the Bonnie Doon Community.” Rempel noted that, although many residents felt that communication between the university and the community was poor earlier in the year, she felt that communication has improved. Please see parking Page 3
Aaron Yeo
SHOWDOWN The U of A’s pokerbot is nearly unbeatable. See feature, page 4.
The Golden Bears hockey team will compete in the CIS national championship this weekend, looking to claim their 14th national trophy in team history
Students satisfied with SU services: survey
Sports, Page 19
Students are happy with the Students’ Union’s operations and services, according to the results from the campus-wide undergraduate student survey. Almost 7,000 students filled out the online survey designed to evaluate the SU’s service. That number is down slightly from last year. “The picture that this survey paints of our students allows us to figure out what questions we need to ask further,” said Marc Dumouchel, general manager for the Students’ Union. “One of the main goals we had was that we wanted to get a better sense of how students used our services.”
Create your own SU e_ection! Ever wanted to decide the SU elections for yourself? Now you can with our Election Rad Libs! opinion FeATURE, Page 10
Undergraduate population appreciates SUBTitles, Safewalk even though usage is lacking Aaron Yeo News Staff
Dumouchel oversees many of the facilities and services that the SU operates, and he said the survey is used as a source of feedback. While the results indicate that most students are satisfied, the SU will use the information to improve their performance where they can. “The survey’s designed to help us ensure that we’re on the right track, in terms of our service delivery, for our operational side. The survey indicates that we generally are, but we can always do better,” Dumouchel added. “People seem very happy overall with the services. The services we offer are one of our strengths.” President Nick Dehod said that many students expressed their interest
and support for the SU’s services, even though they may not use them. “Safewalk is a service that not a lot of students are necessarily utilizing en masse, but they seem to appreciate the fact that it’s there, provided as a service,” Dehod said. Dumouchel agreed, saying SUBTitles is also popular but underused. “The used book market has seen a decline in use [...] However, the survey’s been very clear; students like having us running a used bookstore. They see the value in us providing that competition towards the bookstore.” Dehod thinks that while the facilities are getting good responses, not enough students are taking advantage of them, and attributes that towards
physical separation on campus. “The campus is still very segmented. Some students visit SUB a lot, and others spend a lot of time in other parts of campus, and I think we’ve kind of known that.” In line with President-elect Rory Tighe’s plans, Dehod believes that the SU needs to expand their presence outside of SUB as, according to the survey, 60 per cent of students visit the building at least once a week. “A lot of students have their different nodes on campus and they’re going to spend their time there, so we can’t just expect students to come to SUB to access some of the services here.” Please see survey Page 3