The 2010-2011 Budget Disaster.

When rumors emerged of the $59-60-million deficit emerged the first thing that came to mind was how much student fees would rise.  First of all “the University has proposed a Common Student Space, Sustainability, and Safety Fee that could be as large as $550 per year for all students.” (University of Alberta Students' Union, 2009) This type of fee system is starting to get out of hand. They are able to put into place non-academic fees, so the students are paying this $550 as a usage of space fee. This fee, if alone would not be that bad but sadly charging $550 per student is not enough to release the university from the grasp of a deficit this large.  How after all did the University land in such a large deficit?

"Several factors contributed to this total:

- The Provincial Operating Grant is $30 million less than originally forecasted

 -Investment income is $10.3 million less than forecasted

 -The University faces a $12 million increase for one pension fund contribution

-Tuition fee increases (which are capped by legislation and based on the CPI increase) were $2.6 million less than forecasted

-Other provincial grants were reduced by $6 million." (University of Alberta Budget 2010‐2011 Questions and Answers, 2010) The first bullet under these factors is the provincial Operating Grant. "In each of the past 4 years, the Province has demonstrated a commitment to higher education through operating grant increases of 6%. Through the Provincial Budget 2009, the government confirmed a 6% increase to the University’s base operating grant for 2009-10. With the sharp decline in Provincial revenues, largely due to energy prices, no funding increases to the grant are expected in 2010-11 or 2011-12. This will place significant financial pressures on the University as each 1% reduction to the base grant represents approximately $5 million." (University of Alberta Budget Planning Document 2010-11, 2009) Therefore, for the 2010-11 school years there will be a 0% increase which in reality is a decrease. One budget cut being announced after another really starts to add up. These proposed fee increase will affect everyone, and those students who are barely making it down will most likely be drowned out by these new massive increases. Even looking at how the mark ups will be distributed is in an uneven manner. They are being discriminatory on certain faculties, and some of those faculties are already shelling out tones of cash. Personally, I believe that everyone should have the right to higher education and these increases in fees are causing many to be unable to further their education.

                Overall, I do not believe it is the students’ responsibility to save the university from these massive gaps in funding. The government should not be allowed to simply cut multiple sections of funding so close to the upcoming year that they are cutting. It leaves the university in an awful position and leaves many students’ questioning their decision in furthering their education.

Bibliography

(2009). Retrieved 03 23, 2010, from University of Alberta Students' Union: 

http://www.su.ualberta.ca/student_government/advocacy/mind_the_gap

University of Alberta Budget 2010‐2011 Questions and Answers. (2010, 03). Retrieved 03 23, 2010, from http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/vpfinance/pdfs/Budget%20Q%20and%20A%20March%202010%20Final.pdf

University of Alberta Budget Planning Document 2010-11. (2009, 10 28). Retrieved 03 23, 2010, from http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/vpfinancerp/pdfs/Budget%20Plan%20Doc%2010-11%20_FINAL,%20Oct%2028_.pdf

The Tenant - Bharati Mukherjee

When reading The Tenant for the first time when I approached the last page I began to expect a wonderfully unexpected ending. In a way I got exactly what I thought I would, but not the way I wanted it. It just abruptly ends, leaving one questioning the entire piece of literature. To be asked what I believe the ending is about or what Ashoke Mehta means when he says, "You also have a problem," really caused one to think about how he was presented throughout the entire story. When we first meet this strange character it is from an ad in a newspaper where this seemingly well-off, good-looking man comes into play. How can this dreamy man still be single with no strings attached? Well the first alarm to his 'problem' is apparent in his ad where it states, "Write with recent photo." This is my first clue to what I believe he means by 'problem' at the end. Perhaps all he wants is sex, after all that is what their first encounter was. He could potentially be a very shallow, self-centered sex seeking monster. Wanting only something brief, with no stings attached, meeting in a neutral zone; it seems so obvious. To me, at the end when Ashoke tells Maya that she too has a problem, I believe he is speaking of Fred who he can hear talking in the background. To him Maya is tied down, for him to have her she needs to part with Fred. With the "you also" indicates to me that he had or still has a problem, maybe a wife he is trying to divorce, maybe a family somewhere he is floating away from. It could possibly even be a love child here or there since he can so casually meets with women for sex. Any of these could explain his lack of contact with Maya for months. This so called 'problem' could also be his addiction to sex, and he wants Maya to be his to have whenever he desires and Fred is the last roadblock in his path. The last sentence of this piece provides some evidence for my theory when the audience learns that Maya moves out, leaving Fred and agrees to go to Hartford where Ashoke resides. For me that verifies that Fred was indeed Mayas problem and even in her last opportunity of the piece Maya is not honest. “She tells herself, it will not be the end of Fred’s world. “ I beg to differ, this arm-less man has grown to love Maya and as soon as her lover called upon her she up and left poor Fred. I believe this act of leaving is crushing Fred’s world.

The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poets

Looking through the collection of Poetry in this Anthology, on page seventy-four there is a Poem by Srinivas Rayaprol called Middle Age that struck me as different. At first, the title is very simple which once you read the poem you understand the meaning of the simplicity. The author speaks of growing old and the changes that take place, how the reflection in the mirror will change although the person will stay the same. Many connotations can be found. For me, the phrase, "and the eyes hardened with age", may suggest that in his life many things have been witnessed that potentially would cause a 'hardening' of the eyes, or soul. Hardening to me would mean a toughening, or a loss of innocence. With that, the attitude of the poem changes from beginning to end. It goes from describing all the physical changes that come with the aging of a body, which could be considered as being ' glass half full' because it can be read in a positive tone. It then changes to a 'glass half empty' because it shifts to how the beauty of the youth is being lost and how even with all the good experiences every day is a day closer to death. Continuing with the attitude, the last two lines don't quite 'flow' or 'fit' with the rest of the poem. It is almost as if the author is telling the audience what he is in his life, as though it is his direct voice speaking out. The last word of the poem being 'I' suggests that it is him speaking of his life. This is not suggested until the last word, it begins on a happier note describing the changes and shifts to a darker version of aging by saying that with age comes dead and the loss of beauty and then it almost awkwardly goes to Srinivas telling the reader what he is. The theme of the poem is pretty straight forward, being that of aging and what links together with it. I found the shifts in perspective very interesting and how he explored the positive and the negative views of being middle aged. After reading the poem I believe it is important to revisit the title, to see how its simplicity prepares the reader for the somewhat simple message behind the poem. Overall this poem is quite interesting and I highly recommend you to visit it in the Anthology. (Page 74) It will only take a minute! 

Vancouver 2010 Olympics

One simply cannot walk away from a television when the Olympics are on. They mesmerize those who give it their attention; yet, the 2010 Olympics are being overshadowed by many misfortunes occurring in front of millions of viewers.  It all started with the flame malfunction in the opening ceremonies, where one of the four pillars did not appear. Although the first true heartbreaking news came when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled on a practice run hours before the opening ceremonies and died. What was not reported was that this was the third incident on that exact corner of the course. The first accident victim walked away without serious injury while the second was airlifted off Olympic grounds to be medically evaluated. Reluctantly after medical evaluation there were no serious injuries as well. The first two accidents where woman competitors, and their start position is lower than that of the mens. This gives the men more speed and power as they fly down the course. The wall where Nodar flew from the course was boarded up overnight and no competitors are allowed to race from the mens start location. It is a horrifying thought they did not learn from the first two major accidents, and that it took the death of a young man to add safety precautions to the course. This is not the only dangerous sport at the Olympics, but since Nodars death there have only been a few minor injuries with athletes falling on other courses. It is not simply injuries that are overshadowing the 2010 games. During some of the speed skating events an Olympia Ice Resurfacer broke down spilling hot water all over the track creating what some would jokingly call a 'slip-and-slide'. When the second Ice Resurfacer came on scene to clean up the massive disaster  of the first one, it too broke down crating an even bigger mess. The athletes and coaches were furious with the hour and a half delay and rough ice surfaces, so in came a Zamboni to finally save the day. One would think after pouring millions of dollars into the Olympics they could pick machines that would do their task successfully, not quite though. One can only hope that the second half of the Olympics is centered on more positive aspects of the games. 
Ps. Go Canada go!

The Times of India - I remember the time...

Looking through The Times of India one stumbles upon many articles that would, in the western world, never be found in our main newspaper. This fact probably greatly widens the range of subjects reading their main newspaper. Looking through it I stumbled upon an article called, “I remember the time…”, and even before I began to read it my mind started to trail off to a distant land where my memories live. The title provokes one to think about times from long ago that have been placed into a filing cabinet and soon forgotten about. The article is a compilation of individual’s stories, and at the end of their stories the lesson they learnt from it is stated. Reading through their stories, and their lessons learnt makes one think about their own personal experiences and all the lessons they have so far learnt.

                By no means did I expect an article of this kind to be in a newspaper, let alone in a newspaper from across the ocean. Yet, it was quite touching because once you read about the experiences of others one automatically begins thinking of experiences of their own. Not only did it make me think about experiences I’ve had, it made me think about the lessons they taught me. Never before had I actually thought about what they had taught me, I had simply thought about how it felt after.  The feeling you have after an experience can vary tremendously. Whether it is uplifting, hurtful, sad or empowering, it is these exact feelings that make everyone who they are. It is what makes human beings individuals. From reading this article, I now can look to experiences of my past and pull from them important lessons that make me who I am.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/people/I-remember-the-time/articleshow/5539067.cms

(February 11, 2010)

Response to Monsoon Wedding.

Getting a sneak peak into another culture is always an interesting experience especially if it is into a celebration that one would never normally receive an invitation to. Seeing how the wedding in the film was more of a celebration of uniting the families more than having it purely revolve around the bride and groom is something I  would have never thought of. If someone would have asked me how I thought a wedding would go my response would have including something about the celebration of the bond of two people, yet after viewing this film in different religions what I thought would be somewhat the same worldwide is actually vastly different. Since the marriage is arranged they don’t yet truly have a bond and therefore the wedding is more for the families that the individuals. As well as the fact that the wedding is not centralized around the bride and groom the celebration also lasts more than just the wedding day, there are multiple other events that are part of the religion that are done leading up the marriage. There are some that are slightly confusing such as the henna on the hands of the women, for me being an outsider to this religion the overall meaning of this is unclear but seeing them celebrate in many ways is exciting. Seeing all of the other events opens one’s eyes to what the real meaning of a wedding is.

                How can someone define such an open world? I know that it would be an impossible task for most, yet I know that when my day comes I’ll remember all the little things and how it all started. Seeing in the central wedding how that is their start is nicely paralleled with P.K. Dubey falling for Alice as everything around them is in full swing. After all, what is life without a little love. 

Kumbh Mela

When the question of whether or not we had heard of the largest gathering in our world arose like any other I figured of course, common it’s the largest gathering of people in the world, how could I not? Yet, faith had failed me. I had never heard of this so called ‘Kumbh Mela’, the ‘world’s most massive act of faith’ and that caught my interest. Reading article after article the traditions and faith these people have is unwavering, I do not follow any religion or really believe in astrology or upper powers so looking at pictures and reading about the masses of people gathering isn’t something that would naturally capture my attention. As I looked deeper there is much more to this overwhelming gathering,  people live on the side of the river for weeks showing their faith, bathing in freezing waters, listening to spiritual elders speak, little communities with all the essential parts of life bloom and as powerful as it would be I could never venture around the world to do such a task. Not that it’s not an amazing feat but man I’d be scared, so many people are  trampled to death and sustain injuries, not only are there tremendous risks to attend such an event but being a Caucasian would put a target on ones back as well. Maybe my lack of spontaneity or enthusiasm has kept me in the dark as to the world’s largest gathering because for a country to be able to maintain order with millions upon millions of humans travelling to your country would take up a certain amount of time and money to be adequately prepared. How did I never hear of any of this on the news? I have yet to figure out why this has never been a big issue I’ve heard of but am quite interested to see how it goes for all of the followers who pour their hearts into the river this year. Hopefully all goes well in India.