Student vote to end pop quizzes and early classes

Students at Ryerson University are tired of 8:00 a.m. classes and pop quizzes, and they’re hoping to see the end of both unpopular practices.

The Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) passed two motions at their general meeting on November 11, tasking themselves to lobby the administration to stop offering classes before 10:00 a.m. and to eradicate surprise tests.

The changes in class start times would especially benefit students with long commutes. However, Ryerson president Sheldon Levy explained, “The challenge is that we have to be able to accommodate the schedule and the number of hours and the number of classes we have. That’s already difficult.”

With files from The Eyeopener

UBC grad donates $7.5 million to computer science program

David Cheriton, one of Google’s founding investors and a Stanford University computer science professor, has donated $7.5 million to UBC’s computer science department.

Cheriton, who graduated from UBC in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, made the contribution in hopes of making “computational thinking [. . .] as commonplace a skill as reading and writing.”

The donation will go towards hiring a senior computer researcher and funding a new first-year course on computational thinking, which will be offered in the 2016 winter term. The course will be based on utilizing computer science techniques for problem-solving.

With files from The Ubyssey

University lacks childcare services for student parents

From November 25 to 27, students at the University of Concordia will be able to vote on whether or not to approve “the continued prioritization and active support of the establishment of a Daycare Centre” which is meant to improve student space on campus through the student space, accessible education and legal contingency fund.

Although approximately 10 per cent of students are also parents, a 2010 study showed a lack of childcare and support for student parents at Concordia. The current daycare program is less than sufficient, with a capacity of only 14 children per year.

The university and student union have yet to make improvements, but the student union says they plan to discuss with the university should the students express a desire for better daycare services.

With files from The Concordian