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University Briefs

By Alison Roach

UVic unveils gender-inclusive washrooms

Two washrooms in the main concourse of the UVic Student Union Building which were formerly gendered have been reassigned as gender-inclusive, allowing any person of any gender to use the two spaces. UVic is the first campus on Vancouver Island to try out the multi-stall, gender-inclusive layout.  The physical changes are limited to a new partition around the urinals in the former men’s washroom, and the replacement of the signs at the entrance of each.

 

Two Canadian universities pull top ranking spots

The 2012 QS World University Rankings was released on Monday, with McGill University ranked 18th, and the University of Toronto put in 19th place. This is the first time that two Canadian universities have been designated in the top 20 universities in the world. U of T has been rising in the ranks steadily in the past few years, placing 29th in 2010 and 23rd last year. One thing that U of T’s higher standing is attributed to is an increase in international students.

 

University of Regina students text each other anonymously

A new social media outlet at the University of Regina allows students to text each other randomly and anonymously. URconnecting.com matches students to other users of the site and lets them text each other from their cell phones. Students sign up with their campus email account and provide their age, sex, and area of study, while keeping their personal phone number private. The website touts itself as “ChatRoulette for SMS.”

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SFU to retain contract worker model for cleaning, despite calls for in-house employment

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer Content warning: mention of death.  For the last 15 years, SFU has outsourced its janitorial services through BEST Service Pros, meaning cleaning staff are not directly employed by the university. This decision to outsource labour has been met with notable and continued pushback. The SFU coalition, Contract Worker Justice (CWJ), organized a rally in late 2024 to advocate for in-house contracting of janitorial and food service work. SFU food service workers, employed by Compass Group Canada, led bargaining efforts in 2025 for livable wages by their employer. These organized protests call for the university to in-source and directly employ these staff.  Advocacy for this shift was amplified in July 2025, when Kulbir Kaila died during a cleaning shift at SFU. Coworkers later came...

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SFU to retain contract worker model for cleaning, despite calls for in-house employment

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer Content warning: mention of death.  For the last 15 years, SFU has outsourced its janitorial services through BEST Service Pros, meaning cleaning staff are not directly employed by the university. This decision to outsource labour has been met with notable and continued pushback. The SFU coalition, Contract Worker Justice (CWJ), organized a rally in late 2024 to advocate for in-house contracting of janitorial and food service work. SFU food service workers, employed by Compass Group Canada, led bargaining efforts in 2025 for livable wages by their employer. These organized protests call for the university to in-source and directly employ these staff.  Advocacy for this shift was amplified in July 2025, when Kulbir Kaila died during a cleaning shift at SFU. Coworkers later came...

Block title

SFU to retain contract worker model for cleaning, despite calls for in-house employment

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer Content warning: mention of death.  For the last 15 years, SFU has outsourced its janitorial services through BEST Service Pros, meaning cleaning staff are not directly employed by the university. This decision to outsource labour has been met with notable and continued pushback. The SFU coalition, Contract Worker Justice (CWJ), organized a rally in late 2024 to advocate for in-house contracting of janitorial and food service work. SFU food service workers, employed by Compass Group Canada, led bargaining efforts in 2025 for livable wages by their employer. These organized protests call for the university to in-source and directly employ these staff.  Advocacy for this shift was amplified in July 2025, when Kulbir Kaila died during a cleaning shift at SFU. Coworkers later came...