York grad pleads guilty to rapes on campus
A former York University student pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two women on Sept. 6, 2007, in the midst of the university’s frosh activities.
Daniel Katsnelson, 27, admitted to prowling the Vanier residence after a night of drinking with Justin Connort, who received a three-year prison sentence last year following a guilty plea. Both graduated from York in 2006.
Crown Attorney Andrew Locke, reading from the agreed statement of facts, said the two men entered the building “under the guise of helping an intoxicated resident.”
The two entered several rooms without permission. Katsnelson raped two teens and fondled another woman.
Katsnelson, who was emotional during the Crown’s reading of the agreed statement of facts, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 26.
Alex Bilyk, a spokesperson for York University, said that the university has since added alarm locks and installed more cameras around its residences. “The message here is to always lock your doors,” Bilyk said.—David De Biasi
Sources: Toronto Star, National Post
Fight club busted at U Manitoba
University of Manitoba officials have broken up a fight club operating in its Frank Kennedy Centre.
Taking part in arranged bare-knuckle fighting was popularized by the 1999 film Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, based a novel by Chuck Palahniuk.
According to spokesperson Leah Janzen, a gym member tipped off U of M about the fights in November. The tipster said they had seen a person leave a third-floor squash court with a bloodied nose and gave a link to a Facebook page allegedly run by the fight club.
Working from the Facebook group’s membership list, admin have determined that five people were responsible for staging the fights. They have been banned from the Frank Kennedy Centre for a month. A part-time staff member was also involved in the club, but Janzen would not divulge the person’s position or disciplinary measures.
Janzen said the investigation is ongoing and further discipline could follow as they continue to monitor the squash courts more regularly. “This is unacceptable behaviour. Our concern is for the safety and security of everyone,” she said.—Carolyn Arnett
Sources: CBC News, Winnipeg Free Press
Athletic Centre solar panels get to work
The biggest solar panel project in the GTA can be found on the roof U of T’s Athletic Centre.
The 100 solar collector panels were installed in late 2009 and began generating energy on Jan. 12. Nearly 25 per cent of the heat for the building’s showers and laundry facilities will be supplied from the panels during peak sunshine months. This sustainable form of energy will reduce the building’s natural gas use, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. The reduction in annual emissions is comparable to taking 11 cars off the road permanently.
The preliminary idea for the panels came from Ashley Taylor’s student project in 2006. Taylor was an undergrad in the faculty of applied science. She now works for U of T’s sustainability office, and partnered with the facilities and services division to complete the project.
Ontario and the federal government paid for a third of the project’s costs, with U of T covering the rest.—CA
Source: U of T news release
U Alberta switches to Gmail
The University of Alberta recently announced plans to outsource its email system to Google. The switch to the service will save the university $2 million annually.
The announcement has triggered criticism from faculty, who fear the move could open the door to privacy violations.
Google is an American company and is subject to the U.S. Patriot Act, which could allow American officials to monitor faculty emails if there is suspicion of terrorist involvement. University staff expressed concern that they will be forced to censor opinions for fear of inciting FBI attention.
Privacy concerns led Lakehead University faculty to file a grievance against using Gmail, arguing that the university violated a collective bargaining agreement. The grievance was struck down six months ago.
U of A’s vice provost of information technology, Jonathan Schaeffer, said lawyers are currently working on a privacy agreement with Google. Schaeffer reminded critics that with a court order, Canadian terrorism legislation already allows officials to monitor emails.—Kate Hanton
Source: Edmonton Journal
British parent creates study site
A British man has created his own social networking site with a focus on education. According to Billy Fitzgerald, he was tired of his daughter spending all her time on Facebook. Fitzgerald’s site, studentsandacademics.com, is designed to provide access to resources for research and lesson plans for a wide range of subjects, as well as the bells and whistles of a social networking site.
Pages boast a clean interface and design. Some elements (like the extra status bar on the bottom) are reminiscent of entrenched social networking sites like Facebook. While the site intends to eventually attract student and teachers alike, it is still in the early stages of growth and has 21 members at press time. Academia.edu, a more established website, allows academics to search for researchers with similar interests and follow developments in their field.—Charley Wang
Source: University World News
