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Lucky 13 The men’s hockey team continues its winning streak >> pg. 7
thegazette Hitting on child stars since 1906
Thursday, January 10, 2013
today high 6 low 1
tomorrow high 9 low 7
canada’s only Daily Student Newspaper • founded 1906
Volume 106, Issue 54
Student housing on the rise Study solves gender
Student-focused high rises get approval discrepancy in science Cam Smith News Editor
Courtesy of Adamas Group
IT SURE BEATS FLEMING. A rendering by Adamas Group of London depicts a proposed 15-storey student residence opposite of Fanshawe College. A similar complex is planned for north of Western’s Richmond gates.
Aaron Zaltzman News Editor London’s students will have one more housing option to choose from in the near future, with the city’s Planning and Environment Committee passing a proposed high-rise building aimed at student tenants Tuesday night. This moves the plan, which calls for a 300-bedroom apartment complex to be constructed just north of the Richmond Street gates, closer to full approval. The proposed high-rise is expected to cater to a growing student population in the city, specifically those who want to live near the university. “London has the second highest vacancy rate in the province, so there is a fair bit of housing available,” Glenn Matthews, housing mediation officer for Western’s
off-campus housing service, said. “What [the proposal] does is provide new housing close to the campus, which gives students more choices.”
London has the second highest vacancy rate in the province, so there is a fair bit of housing available. —Glenn Matthews
Housing mediation officer for Western’s off-campus housing service
According to the presentation given to the committee by Zelinka Priamo Limited, the development company behind the plan, the
proposed building will be constructed at 1235 to 1253 Richmond Street; the plan was approved by the committee in conjunction with a similar one to build a studentfocused apartment complex near Fanshawe College. Matthews, who also serves as housing mediation officer for Fanshawe’s off-campus housing, said these plans fit with a city initiative to focus student density in certain areas. “Western has been part of a cityled initiative, the Near-Campus Neighbourhoods Strategy, trying to increase densities in appropriate spots,” Matthews explained. “This fits right in with the city’s strategy, which the University has supported.” The city, as well as Western, had >> see housing pg.3
In a recent interview with The Gazette, Bill Nye stated: “Science is a human idea—I claim the best idea humans have ever had. And so, half of the humans in science ought to be women.” Yet, traditionally, women have been drastically underrepresented in academic fields pertaining to science. A new study, led by Shelley Adamo, a neuroscience and psychology professor at Dalhousie University, may explain why. “What I think is one of the core reasons [for the gender discrepancy] has to do with competition, and when that competition occurs,” Adamo explained. “The timing really conspires against women in science.” While many fields are also extremely competitive, Adamo’s research shows the time at which this competition occurs is different than that for science professions in academia, which happens around the time many women intend to start a family. “One of the things that struck me was that there are a lot of women in medicine,” she said. “The hardest thing about medicine is getting in. But that competition is occurring when women are young, usually before they’ve had children.” Despite men who may wish to have children, the competition for careers in academic science appears to be less of a deterrent for them than for women. “Study after study has shown it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference to a man’s competitiveness how many offspring he has,” Adamo said. “I suspect that will change as men continue to take a more active role in child-rearing. But still, for a variety of societal reasons, women are the primary caregivers, so they take the hit.” While the demands of a career in medicine far exceed those in
academic fields, women in medicine are able to establish themselves earlier and better manage their careers. “It’s not anywhere near as competitive to get into a graduate school in science, but where the competition occurs is getting your first faculty position. The problem is the competition is now occurring when women are in their late twenties or early thirties,” Adamo explained. “Once you have the job, it’s actually pretty good, but it’s getting there that ends up being really hard.”
Study after study has shown it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference to a man’s competitiveness how many offspring he has. —Shelley Adamo
Neuroscience and psychology professor at Dalhousie University
At Western, the gender discrepancy is still apparent within the science faculty. “Historically, women have been underrepresented in the Faculty of Science at Western,” Louise Milligan, associate dean of administration for the Faculty of Science, explained. “Why is this? It’s been studied a lot, but I don’t think there’s a single answer—it’s probably many things.” However, according to Milligan, this trend appears to be changing. “I think, recently, we are attracting more women in terms of academic careers,” she said. “I think there has been some proactiveness, insomuch as there has been recognized that there is a talent pool we are missing.”