See pg. 13 . Plans set in Exploring Youth bring Instructor Arts News motion to Cambodia’s homeless plans to expand MRU dark past problem Sports crash 2010 Features campus to life Games 2 7 14 19 NEWS EDITOR: Alan Mattson [email protected] January 29, 2009 Illustration courtesy Mount Royal College BRIEFS An illustration by Mount Royal’s architects, displayed in the Campus Master Plan, shows all the capital projects for the coming 20 years or so, including a new library, expansions, a concert hall and seven new academic buildings. ational student Nand faculty groups are disappointed with the new federal Build it, and they will come budget, released by the Conservatives on Jan. 27. Mount Royal University’s campus must live up to the name A statement from the Canadian Association of University Teachers paper Jan. 22. Warning: construction ahead said the budget came College, by the way, is now up short for academic a dirty word and has been deliberately dropped from Projected cost: $187 million research and cash- This four-floor structure strapped students. all promotional material. For all intents and purposes, this will replace Mount Royal’s “There’s probably no undersized and understocked by Alan Mattson school is now “Mount Royal” better investment in the or “MR.” This will undoubtedly library, currently located News Editor long-term economic save thousands of hoodie in the main building. The environmentally friendly Mount Royal’s decade-long owners from embarrassment and social well-being building will house study space, quest for university status when this school is called of Canadians than expanded holdings and the seems to be hitting its zenith. “Mount Royal University.” new Faculty of Teaching and an investment in Inspectors from the More than 80 per cent of Learning. university research,” Association of Universities Mount Royal students are said executive director and Colleges in Canada — the enrolled in a university- Library and Learning Centre country’s de facto university level program. Curriculum, James Turk. However, $2 Projected cost: $25 million accrediting body — will soon governance and faculty are up billion was set aside for New science labs will be visit Mount Royal. They will to the university standard, or added on to the main building infrastructure upgrades consider whether we are on close to it. in two phases, eventually at schools. par with other universities Marshall, always willing to forming a whole building. These in the country and, more spread his message through the are necessary for Mount Royal’s importantly, whether graduate media, told the Herald Jan. 20 After more than new Bachelor of Science degree universities should accept that Mount Royal is “99.9 per 12 weeks on and will provide a platform for M applicants holding a Mount cent there” in the transition. more research based here. strike, workers at York Royal bachelor’s degree. Not so fast, Dave. It might University in Toronto (Shameless plug: for be a foregone conclusion that are being ordered complete coverage of the AUCC MRU is coming, but I fear the Science and Technology Building back to work by the visit, head to thereflector.ca on change will be an empty one. provincial government. Jan. 30.) You will have your university. Projected cost: $45 million Editorials in the Calgary Now it’s time to build a campus About 50,000 students With spaces drying up and Herald scream for the Alberta worthy of that title. no more land to build parking saw classes cancelled government to get off their This school has planned lots, Mount Royal has turned starting Nov. 6 after duffs and change the damn hundreds of millions of to a parkade as the answer to 3,400 teaching name, already. “Refusing dollars in new buildings the crunch. The downsides: assistants, contract Mount Royal’s request (for a and infrastructure. Take A parking lot will be taken up name change) only further a gander at the “Campus faculty and graduate during its construction, which cements Alberta’s reputation Master Plan” links on your won’t be for a few years. Oh, and assistants walked off the as a province that places too MyMRC home page. the government mandates that job. little value on the benefits it can only be paid for through of a university education,” Parkade See STRUCTURE pg. 3 parking fees. Expect your permit Paula Arab wrote in the to cost more next year.ere. January 29, 2009 • THE REFLECTOR 3 Survey says parking ‘is a nightmare’ The results of a national didn’t have too many people student survey suggest gave me the chance to get Mount Royal students are to know my instructors and happy with their education, feel comfortable with all of but still have problems with them,” one student wrote in parking and tend not to be their survey response. involved in campus life. Parking, however, was the The annual Canadian main shortcoming identified University Survey by students. A shortage of Consortium (CUSC) spaces combined with many measures how students students driving their cars to perceive their institution. school has created a crunch. Last spring, 450 Mount “Parking at my school is Royal students completed a nightmare,” one student the survey. wrote. “Who likes to leave Photo by Robert Strachan Although Mount Royal 40 minutes early for class Stephan Durston, manager of parking and transportation at Mount Royal, and sustainable is not a university, it still just to find a parking spot?” transportation, co-ordinator Amy Thai display a map of the future parking lots. uses the survey to see how “The parking around the the school measures up to campus is horrendous,” other universities across the another student wrote. country. “There’s never enough Parkade in the works “The Mount Royal student spots and you have to walk experience is assessed 10 miles just to get to the on the same playing door.” Permit price hikes will pay for $45M project ground as other Canadian The survey also found universities,” said Georgina campus life at Mount Royal by Robert Strachan people to allocate parking permit-per-stall ratio and stalls, set the permit-to-stall increase the amount of Grant, an assessment is lacking — fewer than one- Web Editor ratio, and set the prices for available stalls, which will be analyst with the Office of fifth of students surveyed Mount Royal drivers will the required permits. Stefan accomplished by categorizing Institutional Analysis and say they attend campus have fewer parking spots Durston, manager of parking lots into day lots, open permit Planning (OIAP) at Mount social or cultural activities available and will pay more for and transportation services, lots, closed permit lots and Royal. or belong to on-campus permits in the upcoming fall will use evidence compiled installing a new parkade. The results were mostly clubs. semester, but they won’t find from the parking simulations Although the proposed positive; many students are Mount Royal uses the how much it will increase until to determine how much the parkade will provide 1,200 satisfied with small class survey as a marketing tool. April. price of parking permits will parking stalls, it will be built sizes, an intimate learning “Results of (the) CUSC The increase in price will increase. on an existing 300-stall lot. environment and a practical are reported nationally be based on information “Right now we issue for Along with the loss of parking curriculum. Overall, Mount in Maclean’s, so there is a collected at an open house most of the student lots at stalls caused by the expansion Royal students rank their significant-sized audience,” held by Mount Royal parking about 1.5 permits per stall, of the Centre for Continuous experience on par with Grant said and transportation services on which allows the cost to come Learning and the new science university students. Jan. 27, where drivers were down for everyone but creates wing, the final outcome will “Being in a program that — The Reflector given the opportunity to run a a lot of problems at the same be an increase of only a few “parking simulator.” time,” Durston said. The future hundred stalls. The simulator allowed plan is intended to reduce the See PARKING pg. 6 ‘You can’t just add bodies, you need to add space’ Pint-sized university STRUCTURE from pg. 2 Marshall is a one-step-at- Mount Royal got $2.1 million a-time kind of guy, and is to lease space for the expanded “The campus will need to “optimistic” the government nursing program and $11 1, 200, 000 evolve by providing more will pony up some cash. “They million for the conversion to flexible study areas for students, recognize there’s a severe access new bachelor’s degrees. new research and development challenge in Alberta,” he said Rachel Bouska, a spaces, and a more formal in an interview last year. “You spokesperson for Alberta structure of interior and can’t just add bodies, you need Advanced Education and exterior spaces that is conducive to add space as well.” Technology, said “no institution to a university environment,” Although these projects are is being overlooked . we’ve the plan reads. still in the planning stage, that said time and time again what A four-storey library building. 756,408 shouldn’t affect the university an important role Mount Royal An expanded science centre transition. The fact the college College plays in the campus for research. A parkade, to fix has concrete, “achievable” plans Alberta system.” Indeed, Mount the college’s massive parking and is moving forward is good Royal plays a unique role by problems. Seven new academic enough, according to Marshall.