/30 05 2010 / 09 volume 65 THE EDUCATION ISSUE pAges 2 – 7 & 9 Your bachelor of arts degree What is it worth? NEWS page 3 School trustees raise the stakes Our Better Voter Series continues news page 5 Tuition fees Where does the money go? CAMPUS NEWS page 7 02 The UniTer September 30, 2010 www.UniTer.ca LOOkINg fOr listingS? CAMPUS & COMMUNITY LISTINGS AND Cover Image rules and regulations pop! Etc. returns with VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES page 6, This is part of one of the new metal MUSIC page 12, sculptures local artist (and frequent Uniter get in the way Japandroids, Boats and more contributor) James Culleton created for of civic participation FILM & LIT page 14, the West End Cultural Centre. See story GALLERIES & MUSEUMS page 14 & 15, on page 15. THEATRE, DANCE & COMEDY page 15, Visit www.jamesculleton.blogspot.com COMMENTS page 9 ARTS & CULTURE pages 11 & 12 AWARDS AND FINANCIAL AID page 18 Photograph by Janessa Brunet News UNITER STAFF ManaGinG eDitor More freedom to learn ... and slack off Aaron Epp » [email protected] BUSiness ManaGer alternative high schools Geoffrey Brown » [email protected] make it nearly impossible PrODUcTiOn ManaGer Ayame Ulrich » [email protected] to fail, yet some do cOPy anD styLe eDitor Britt Embry » [email protected] KarleNe Ooto-STUBBS Photo eDitor Cindy Titus [email protected] CampUS BeaT repOrTer » newS assiGnMenT eDitor Andrew McMonagle » [email protected] Some school divisions in Manitoba have ad- newS PrODUcTiOn eDitor opted an unwritten “no-fail” policy, meant to in- Kristy Rydz » [email protected] crease graduation rates and motivate students to stay in school. For alternative options like Argyle arts anD culture eDitor Alternative High School, there has always been Matt Preprost » [email protected] a no-fail policy. cOMMents eDitor “Our no-fail policy is based on a students’ Andrew Tod » [email protected] continuous progress,” said Pat Graham, princi- Listings cO-OrDinator pal of Argyle. “We won’t fail a student for in- J.P. Perron [email protected] complete work, but rather give them a second » chance to complete the assignments at their own caMPUS BeaT rePOrTer pace.” Karlene Ooto-Stubbs » [email protected] “There are a lot of people BeaT rePOrTer Ethan Cabel » [email protected] who slack off. Some can’t do BeaT rePOrTer CharmainE Mallari well without pressure from Sonya Howard » [email protected] For schools like argyle alternative high School, no-fail rules have lead to low graduation rates among students. teachers.” BeaT rePOrTer – Ruben LLanillos, arGyLe studenT Lauren Parsons » [email protected] Failure at Argyle is up to the student, accord- In all Manitoba high schools, regular or alter- culture rePOrTer Graham sees students come to Argyle after ing to Graham. If a student demonstrates that native, the decision to allow a student to gradu- Robin Dudgeon [email protected] having social or educational issues with other they are not interested in learning, they will be ate is made on a case-by-case basis and now often » schools. withdrawn from the Winnipeg School Division- influenced by school-specific no-fail policies. But working at their own pace can spell funded school. “Whether kids are retained or passed is a CONTrIBUTOrS: trouble for some students, especially those who Many students drop out, which worries her. school decision, but we encourage it to be made lacked motivation at their previous school. “If a student is not attending school I have to by a team of parents and principal,” said Gerald Matt austman, courtney Brecht, Ruben Llanillos has been at Argyle for three be concerned with what outside factors are pull- Farthing, deputy minister of education for Janessa Brunet, Kathleen cerrer, years, after dropping out of his former school. ing them away from an education,” she said. Manitoba. Justin currie, Timothy Dyck, “My first high school wasn’t personal, every- These outside factors influence Argyle’s rules Although Argyle accommodates students’ will Gibson, Kristy hoffman, one was being herded like sheep to graduate,” on accessibility for students. Many work to sup- schedules and provides them with services Jordan Janisse, ryan Janz, Dylon Llanillos said. “I also had issues being queer in port themselves and need to co-ordinate times such as counseling and daycare, some still don’t Martin, charmaine Mallari, Miguel that atmosphere ... I needed more of a human for schoolwork with teachers. graduate. McKenna, esma Mneina, adara connection to do school work.” “The average time for a student to be at Argyle “We ask students to take responsibility for Moreau, Sagan Morrow, Sarah Llanillos thinks the personal and relaxed at- is two or three years,” she said. “Some come here their learning ... last year we had 40 out of 90 reilly, Lee repko, chloe rew, Brian mosphere at Argyle helps students feel comfort- and get all the credits they need in a semester, Grade 12s graduate,” Graham said. “But those rice, Sara Shyiak, aaron Snider, able to do work, but also hinders motivation. whereas others do it slowly over four years. We students may have been here in Grade 12 for two catherine van reenen, alana “There are a lot of people who slack off. Some give them many options to complete assign- or three years.” westwood, J. williamez can’t do well without pressure from teachers, and ments and are flexible to their needs. But, it’s an the teachers are very forgiving when it comes to easy place to be, and we struggle with students For more information about Argyle, visit www. being lazy,” he said. becoming too comfortable here.” wsd1.org/argyle/home. The Uniter is the official student newspaper of the University of winnipeg and is published by Mouseland Press inc. Mouseland Press inc. is a membership based organization in which students and community members are invited to participate. For more BY Aaron Snider information on how to become a member go to www. uniter.ca, or call the office at 786-9790. The Uniter Q: WOULD somEbODy’S education LEvEL Affect how yOU pErCEIvE THEm? is a member of the canadian University Press and campus Plus Media Services. SUBMiSSiOn OF ARTicLeS, LeTTERS, GRAPhicS AND PhOTOS ARE WELcOMe. articles must be submitted in text (.rtf) or Microsoft word (.doc) format to editor@ uniter.ca, or the relevant section editor. Deadline Jiwon park, first- robbie regier, fourth- reba Terlson, fourth- for submissions is 6:00 p.m. Thursday, one week year, no major year honours English year theatre before publication. Deadline for advertisements is “not so much, just a “Most of my relationships “i don’t think so, no. noon Friday, six days prior to publication. The Uniter reserves the right to refuse to print submitted little bit.” are formed at the univer- i think people should material. The Uniter will not print submissions that sity, and i guess a certain form their own opinions are homophobic, misogynistic, racist, or libellous. we kind of conversation is about a person just also reserve the right to edit for length and/or style. what i like to get involved because of who they are in.” and how they represent themselves.” CONtACt US » General Inquiries: 204.786.9790 Advertising: 204.786.9790 editors: 204.786.9497 Fax: 204.783.7080 e-mail: [email protected] Web: www.uniter.ca LOCAtION » Hubert Calderon, Augusta Stobbe- Ernie Wall, room ORM14 second-year pre- University of Winnipeg first-year pre-med reimer, second-year 515 portage Avenue student international develop- architecture Winnipeg, manitoba r3b 2e9 “i think no. i would ment studies “i would have to say base it on a person’s “That depends whether yes because usually personality. if i found or not the education is well-educated people out they were highly free. if it’s something have put in a lot of time and effort to Mouseland Press Board of directors: educated it wouldn’t free then of course Michael rac (chair), Shawn coates, courtney change.” people should try to attain that level of knowledge.” Berthelette, clayton winter, alex Freedman, attain the maximum Shannon Sampert, Brian Gagnon, Kelly ross, level they can.” caroline Fisher, Ben wickstrom and Fabian Suarez. For inquiries e-mail: [email protected] News 03 www.UniTer.ca September 30, 2010 The UniTer Bachelor’s degrees worth more than just the paper they’re written on employers still value the vice-president of academics, believes a BA leads not only to greater earnings, but also undergraduate degree greater life and job satisfaction. “There are four questions on everyone’s final exam for life: who am I, where have I SONya Howard come from, what am I doing and why am I BeaT repOrTer here,” Corlett said. “A BA gives you the basic skills to answer those questions.” Increasingly, employers are asking for a Undergraduate students concerned they BA at the entry level and sometimes even a may someday need an MA just to serve fries master of business administration (MBA), can rest assured that won’t be the case, ac- notes Mike Cuma, vice-president of human cording to a new report on post-secondary resources and labour relations consulting at education. career placement firm Legacy Bowes. “There is a real market value to the non- “At the same time, organizations don’t feel vocational skills taught in liberal arts under- the need to hire an MBA when a BA-holder graduate programs,” said Torben Drewes. may have the required skills as well as a strong Drewes, an economics professor at Trent work ethic, maturity and the ability to work University in Ontario, is co-author of a C.D. in a team,” Cuma said. Howe Institute report released in August Corlett agrees that students won’t neces- 2010 that looks at the payoff of education.