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A pressing challenge London-based team launches DIY gaming application for iPad. >> pg. 3
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Volume 106, Issue 93
Tuition framework Gripes fly over TEDx selection seeks compromise Campus > TEDx
Aaron Zaltzman News Editor
YouTube
BRAIN WORK. Acclaimed neuroscientist Adrian Owen speaks at the 2011 Tedx UWO event.
Alex Carmona News Editor
TEDxWesternU is gearing up for its launch on April 5, and their 100-attendee, student-only limit has ruffled some feathers. “There were two types of complaints we’ve received. The first were coming from students asking why this event was limited to only 100 people. I knew we were going to have to deal with this type of complaint,” Oscar Linares-Leon, co-chair of the TEDxWesternU team, said. “I explained to them that we are only allowed, by TEDx rules, to have 100 attendees—this limit is imposed by the TED organization, not us.” Linares-Leon explained the reason for the low attendee cap was due to how new TEDx is to Western. While a previous TEDx event was hosted at Western two years ago, according to Linares-Leon, it did not follow the TEDx regulations enough to truly be considered a TEDx event.
“This is the first time we’re really doing this. The other TEDx event that happened [in 2011] didn’t really count because it didn’t fulfill any or most of the [TED] requirements. So this is pretty much the first time TEDxWesternU has a chance to prove itself worthy,” he said. If the event is successful, future TEDx events at Western could be given bumped-up attendee limits. The event received hundreds of applications to attend, which were reviewed on a blind basis by members of the TEDxWesternU committee. However, Andrew Kanapatski, a second-year science student at Western, took issue with the quality of the application. “The questions were very generic. I mean, how can “What is your favourite TED quote?” be indicative of whether you should attend or not?” he asked, citing an example of one of the application questions. “Frankly, I did not put a lot of effort into the application. However, what surprised me is that the
selection process seemed random, since some of my friends who put just as little effort into the application got in,” he continued. Keith Marnoch, director of media relations for Western, stressed the selection process held no element of randomness to it. “[It’s] not just some random cruel and unusual treatment of Western students. [The] selection process was done anonymously by reading applications and making decisions in a panel setting,” he said. The TEDxWesternU team also received complaints from alumni who were barred from applying because they were not active students. “A lot of alumni wanted to come to this event, but sadly we decided to keep it only for students. Given the fact we only have 100 spots, we wanted to have as many spots available to students. We want to influence the way they are thinking so to maximize that reach we wanted to have only students,” Linares-Leon said.
If the mark of a good compromise is that neither side is happy, then the Ontario government can give itself a pat on the back for their new tuition framework, which will come into effect this fall and allow for a three per cent increase in tuition per year. With the old framework, under which tuition could rise from five to eight per cent per year, set to expire this fall, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities opted not to renew it, prompting input from all sides. Student groups, like the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, pushed for a minimum one-year tuition freeze, and for further increases to be no more than inflationary. They called the average Ontario tuition of $7,180—the highest in Canada—unsustainable. “Ontarians recognize that our province has the least affordable tuition in the country,” Alysha Li, president of OUSA, said. “Support for a more affordable tuition framework, including an immediate tuition freeze, strongly exists in Ontario.” Opposite student groups were the universities, who argued tuition hikes were necessary for their already-overstretched budgets if they were to continue their quality of education. The Council of Ontario Universities strongly argued against capping tuition increases, saying their institutions received the least government funding in the country. In the end, both sides expressed disappointment, as well as appreciation for the new framework. “We acknowledge that it is progress. However, it’s not what students asked for,” Li said. “In the past, inflation has been an average of two per cent, so this
framework calls for tuition plus one per cent—it’s better than the five per cent we had before, but it’s not what students have asked for.” Keith Marnoch, director of media relations for Western, shared a similar albeit opposite sentiment. “We appreciate the fact that they did listen to all stakeholders,” Marnoch said. “But our message was ultimately that universities, like Western, are trying to protect the quality of education they currently offer.” As for getting tuition down or funding up, both sides expressed the same opinion—the new framework is a step in the right direction, but there is still much work to be done. “We would really like to see the universities focus on quality despite the three per cent increase,” Li said. “Ontario has some of the lowest funding for universities, and we would like to see the government invest more.” “We were looking for something different, but we appreciate how the government got there,” Marnoch said. “We don’t get that government support that other provinces receive, and that’s something we’re continually trying to work at fixing.” If either group is going to push for increased funding or lowering tuition, they have until 2017, when this new framework expires, to do so.
Ontario tuition framework New: 3% cap on provincial tuition increases. Old: 5% to 8% cap on provincial tuition increases. Average Ontario tuition: $7,180 Source: OUSA