Paul Kramer’s book ‘Maggie Goes on a Diet’ is due to be released in October, but not without great controversy. It is not surprising that Kramer’s use of the term ‘diet’ in a children’s book sparks outrage, but even more disturbing is the book’s message.

The story is about Maggie, a 14-year-old girl who goes on a diet and becomes her school’s popular soccer star. Paul Kramer claims his intention for the book is not to encourage eating disorders but,...

What if we could eliminate the need for ourselves and the work we do? This may sound counterintuitive, but that is exactly what Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), a Toronto-based NGO, is striving for.

JHR was founded in 2002 by Ben Peterson. Since then it has spread across Canada with the founding of university campus chapters like the one here at Laurier Brantford. JHR recognizes the power of the media in today’s society and tries to harness it. Mainstream and...

As an unapologetic leftist, it’s difficult to admit that living through the Conservatives’ rein in a minority government wasn’t painful. Sure, their social policies are cringe-worthy in their ruthlessness, economically they’re always rearing to expand tax cuts to the wealthy and, globally, their war doctrine is repugnantly invasive, but at least they couldn’t call all the shots. That changed with the election this year when Harper won a majority of seats.

The structure went from an open debate forum, where...

I used to cringe at the sound of the “F” word. It is a word exclaimed – not just said – under the most undesirable circumstances, such as when your finger gets caught in the door.

When a group of Laurier Brantford students and faculty formed the F-Word Committee last year, they gave the phrase “‘F’word” a whole new meaning – one that has made the word a proud member of students’ daily lexicon.

No, I’m not talking about the...

My grandfather used to say to my mother, “There is no ‘fair’.”

It wasn’t an old adage or a philosophy to live by, but rather a sign of exasperation at the state of the world. I laughed when my mother told me this. “Where’s the other half?” I asked her more than once. I couldn’t fathom a phrase like that working without at least a glimmer of hope at the end. I didn’t believe her when she said that that...

Plagiarism, like most dirty laundry, isn’t often aired in the proverbial public square of academia. For the most part, it’s a problem that flies under the radar, reintroduced to students only when papers are due and insinuated at by an ethics policy or, more pointedly, thrown in the spotlight when students are asked to submit their works to the online database, ‘Turn It In’.

Well, the tide has certainly changed. Last year, when I interviewed Jesse Rossenfeld, a former McGill...

This past week, airwaves all over the world have been full, nay, clogged with news and analysis of what happened on that fateful day ten years ago.

September 11th had become the crux of the 21st century and virtually every news network has jumped on the band wagon and cashed in on the world’s collective grief. Yet, my sentiment towards this monumental point in history is no stronger than, “It’s been ten years. Let’s move on already.”

This event had...

Have you ever received that chain-email with pictures of the less fortunate in Africa? They usually remind us to be thankful for what we have with graphic images of Africans living in appalling conditions; an African child’s feet in sandals made of flattened plastic water bottles and raffia, school children drawing alphabets on the ground for lack of pencil and paper, school children crowded five to a desk in a darkened classroom, villagers collecting water where cattle and pets drink...

“It has been said something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.” - Chaos Theory

If you Google for long enough, you may have the good fortune of coming across a phrase that will both intrigue and confuse you: how to fix a butterfly’s wings. At first it may come across as some strange trivia or the type of hypothetical musing only conducive to conversation after a few drinks.

Before Hurricane Irene hit the eastern shores of the United States, one tuning in to CNN may have expected the apocalypse to rain down.

Reporters in bright red or yellow rain jackets stood in cities along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, from Ocean City, Maryland up to Manhattan.

Of course, what actually happened fell far short of the media storm that surrounded it.

The media became the focus of attention after the storm passed, with many pointing the...

It has been over a month since I first set foot on Ghanaian soil and, I must say, my urge to do everything fast has been greatly reduced. Thanks to the laid-back pace at which virtually everything is done here, I no longer feel the need to rush things.

I came here in mid-May with four other students as part of the university internship program run by Journalists for Human Rights. Three of us, including myself, are posted in Kumasi,...

(The following is a sarcasm-laden satirical piece inspired by Binyawanga Wainaina’s “How to Write about Africa,” published in Granta 92)

When you picture Brantford, confine your imagination to the immediate downtown area. Do not entertain the possibility that there might be other places outside the boundaries of the Laurier campus.

Treat the microcosm of the downtown area as a representative of the whole of Brantford. Ignore every other structure except the methadone clinic in St. Andrew’s Church, the bus terminal...

I believe the women who volunteer and work for WLUSU Brantford also inspire female empowerment, deserve to be celebrated and not completely disregarded.

The article focused on a lack of female interest in student politics, and politics itself - but being involved in WLUSU Brantford is being involved in student politics. BCC is an advisory committee to the board of directors in Waterloo and not the only facet to represent the students’ interests at Laurier Brantford. The Brantford Operations Team...

I was flat-out excited when I read this article. Kiley’s story about getting involved in St. Andrew’s Church’s Soup for the Soul program is so encouraging, and I’m glad that other students had a chance to read it.

Community volunteering is an amazing way to stretch your worldview, gain valuable experience for future employment, and serve a program or organization that could use your help. There really is something for everyone, even if you might only have a little bit...