The evening of April 2nd offered a unique opportunity to anyone willing to partake of it. Jack Layton invited the occupants of a packed Convocation Hall out for drinks. The invitation followed a superb lecture given by Dr. David Suzuki at the University of Toronto. The event was presented by Layton and his New Democratic… Read more »

Continued from last week… In the days following my terrifying visit to emergency, I booked an appointment with my doctor and tried to figure out what might have caused my apparent heart attack. My primary suspicion was the condition of my blood and hemoglobin. I’ve been severely anemic for some time now. When this was… Read more »

As me dear old Ma used to say, after 15 or 16 “wee drams,” you can never go wrong by following your dreams. Unless, of course, your dreams involve using Bassett hounds as hand warmers, or disemboweling social workers, in which case, you should probably follow your doctor’s medication plan instead of your dreams. But… Read more »

I am a woman, not a shorter, less-hairy man. My body does not respond to illness the same way as a man’s body would. It does not function the same, it does not react to medication the same, nor is my chemical make-up the same. My diseases will be different, as will my recovery. While… Read more »

EDMONTON (CUP) — The mother of a student with a disability has filed two more human rights complaints against the University of Alberta, bringing the total number of complaints to six. Susan Russell said the complaints, filed with the provincial human rights commission, criticize the university’s “inability to provide appropriate accommodations” to allow her son,… Read more »

As busy students at AU, many of us are managing incredibly complex schedules that may include family, work and community activities in addition to our coursework. We may have heavy responsibilities and health issues or disabilities that contribute to a high level of stress. I’m a prime example of a full-time student who maintains an… Read more »

There is a scene in Rob Reiner’s rock mockumentary This is Spinal Tap, starring Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer as David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls respectively, in which Derek Smalls, the heavy metal band’s bass player, sets off an airport metal detector because he has stuffed his crotch with a… Read more »

As I struggle through the complex paperwork to finalize my second divorce, a difficult and unpleasant task at the best of times, I find myself becoming increasingly ambivalent and negative toward the notion of love and marriage. Why would anyone embark upon a legal arrangement that ends in failure almost 50% of the time? The… Read more »

Before we start critcizing so-called oppressive regimes in other parts of the world, I think we in democratic Canada should take a good hard look at some of the outdated and tyrannical laws with which we put the fascist boots to our own citizenry. I’m thinking specifically of those medieval and dogmatic statutes that stifle… Read more »

Over the last few weeks, American news media has been intensely preoccupied with the case of Terri Schiavo, a topic that has touched many and prompted vigorous and acrimonious debate. Her life and death struggle has sparked important dialogue in many homes, including my own. I cannot begin to imagine how difficult her life has… Read more »