News

<p>St. Thomas University Students&#8217; Union launched a committee with the goal of engaging students to combat sexual assault and rape culture on campus. Committee co-chairs Amy Baldwin, a fourth-year student, and vice-president student life Jimy Beltran want to engage with students to destroy rape culture and sexual assault on campus. “[Students] are the ones who [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Change to election bylaws Philippe Ferland, president of the St. Thomas University Students’ Union, said changes to the union’s election bylaws have been finalized. This includes changes to the warning system for disqualification. Candidates will now receive three warnings before being cut out of the race. It also includes a clearer definition of what constitutes [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University has already begun responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and plans to continue throughout the 2017-18 academic year. St. Thomas began Indigenizing the academy — incorporating Indigenous cultures into the university — during welcome week with a powwow and celebration of cultures and stories. They also included [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Former St. Thomas University student and decorated author, David Adams Richards was appointed to the Senate this past August. While there, he will give a voice to his native land of New Brunswick and consider legislation before it becomes law.   “He will be a fine representative for a province that he has written about so [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University is starting the new school year with a record-high number of first year international students on campus. STU had approximately 40 new international students for the 2016-17 academic year, according to Scott Duguay, associate vice-president of enrolment management. The figures are subject to change, as official enrolment figures will be released on [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The New Brunswick Student Alliance and Fredericton Chamber of Commerce signed a two-year partnership on Sept. 7 that will increase workplace opportunities for post-secondary students. Krista Ross, CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, said the city noticed students didn’t have prominent connections in the business community after graduation. “Giving students the advantage to connect [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Enrolment increase As of Sept. 1, St. Thomas University’s student population sits at 1,958. President Dawn Russell said this includes 669 first year students, an increase of 18 full-time individuals from last year. Russell also said there were increases in international, transfer, mature and returning student populations. This number usually changes between now and Oct. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The new Harrington Hall was still undergoing repairs when the first week of classes started. Some water fountains were missing parts and not operational, painting was not finished and there was no wi-fi or cable service in the lounges. The new kitchen was also closed. “No, [they’re] not [finishing up] renovations, they’re finishing up deficiencies,” [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University Students’ Union will work on Indigenization efforts, hold a liberal arts jobs fair, and seek to increase student engagement in societies and committees, among other plans for the new school year. STUSU president Philippe Ferland said one of his main focuses is working to facilitate Indigenization. This refers to incorporating the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University is increasing the price of tuition again, completing the university’s five-year plan to bring STU’s tuition costs closer to the provincial average. The university announced in May that tuition costs would rise for the upcoming academic year. The changes hiked domestic tuition fees up by 5.8 per cent, or $367. For international [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University’s new Health Research Chair in Cannabis will be filled by the end of the academic year, the school said. It&#8217;s the first Canadian health research chair to be created with a focus on cannabis. The chair’s research will “examine the social determinants of health relative to the use of recreational and medical [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University announced in August the establishment of a Research Chair in Community Health and Aging to be filled by July 2018. The successful candidate will become a tenured faculty member, conduct research, teach courses in gerontology and set up and run research projects. Jeffrey Carleton, associate vice-president communications at STU, described the gerontology department as [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University moot court team won the Nelson Mandela World Moot Court Competition in Geneva, Switzerland on July 21. Represented by fourth-year student Navy Vezina and third-year Abbie LeBlanc, STU was the first Canadian team to participate in the nine-year-old competition. To qualify to participate in the competition teams had to prepare a [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University has decided to discontinue its track and field team’s throwing program for the upcoming year. Athletics director Mike Eagles said the decision was made following a discussion with coach Mark Sheehan about difficulties managing the combined STU and University of New Brunswick training teams. In an email to affected students on May [&hellip;]</p>

<p>External STUSU hiring Vice-president administration Philippe Ferland said there are still four positions to be hired to round out next year&#8217;s Student Representative Council. Students can apply to be STUSU chair, secretary, Welcome Week chair, as well as for a position at the Help Desk. Ferland said applications are due by Friday to the Help [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Growing up, I hated the news. It was all explosions, war and terror. It was all I grew up on and I didn&#8217;t want to read about it. The first time I really read the news was when I wrote my first news story for The Aquinian. I had to figure out what news looked like, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Bachelor of Social Work students made Sir James Dunn Hall a hub for community action during their annual social action fair on March 20. Tracy Glynn, a professor in the program who helps organize the event, said everyone involved was pleased to see students, professors and community members take in the students’ projects. She said [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University student Sarah Cooper launched her first book, a compilation of poetry titled Of Feathers and Fire, encircled by a diverse group of students, friends and professors on Friday. “This is the first [book] launch, within my living memory anyway, that celebrates a book written by a student,” said Michael Dawson, a history [&hellip;]</p>

<p>In this past year working with The Aquinian, I’ve learned just how valuable and useful the student paper is. You can turn it into a floor mat to absorb the messy slush from snow boots, you can fold it into a hat to keep your ears warm, or unfold it into a good makeshift blanket, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Sitting upon a sun-drenched bench in a local downtown café, John Muise&#8217;s eyes were puffy and bloodshot, but his green shirt was pressed and his checkered blazer complimented his brown dress shoes. He had been meeting a friend, networking, talking about his post-STU prospects. Anyone who knows Muise, or anyone who&#8217;s seen the slender bald [&hellip;]</p>