TTC increases fares
It already costs far too much to wait 45 minutes for a bus only to end up surrounded by strangers who don’t use deodorant. People won’t use public transit if they have to pay a premium for bare-minimum service, and the little improvements that came our way (polite Canadian announcers make an appearance on the Queen and Spadina streetcars!) aren’t worth the hike.
UTSU Referendum
Students balked at an election that was held without notice, was rife with sneaky voting strategies, and saw UTSU crush all opposition in pursuit of a utopic centre with no architectural plans. Democracy at its best!
Provincial Election
As John Tory shot himself in the foot over religious schools (so much that he remained seatless), Howard Hampton did the best he could in a post-Rae Ontario. Frank de Jong just wanted people to notice him. They mostly didn’t. Dalton McGuinty is some kind of robot and apparently that’s good enough for us. Another muddled referendum (this time about proportional representation) left us with the status quo. Sadly, in the end nothing really changed.
Muslim Students Union doesn’t like halal food at UTSC
In a story that sparked controversy in the National Post and the Toronto Star, The Varsity learned that religious accommodation can only go so far. Tolerance is key in a campus with over 60,000—we can’t give everything to everybody, but little concessions are okay every now and then.
The city implements landmark new taxes
If Toronto ever wants to play with the international big boys, we have to fi nd new sources of income—property taxes simply aren’t enough. The city is constantly on the verge of bankruptcy. And as David Miller pursues one cent of the GST, our two cents is that these taxes are an investment in a more progressive society.
Varsity Blues just can’t win
We can’t help but smile at our football team’s inability to win a single game. Having already set one record for futility (take that York!), the Blues are on their way to setting another. The Varsity hopes they can keep up the streak and at least be known for something. If not, drinks on us when (if?) we fi nally light up the scoreboards.
Nuit Blanche
This year’s all-night “contemporary art” thing was inspiring, unorganized, and a little underwhelming. While its debut was better, there’s potential for better next year.
U of T invests your money in military companies
While the cynic in us realizes every university is part corporation, is it so hard not to make money off war? We already divested our tobacco stocks last year—investments in military contractors aren’t that much better.
Ethical stem cells
The barriers between scientifi c innovation and religious fundamentalism were fi nally broken with the development of “ethical stem cells.” Finally George Bush can get off his high horse and realize the possibilities of saving lives that don’t even exist yet.
