ALGONQUIN BRINGS HOME GOLD
PAGE 16
ALGONQUIN TIMES
STUDENT OWNED AND OPERATED
Eric Declerq, a second-year horticulture technician student, prepares a display in the horticulture building for the Alice Down the Rabbit Hole open
house. Students and faculty designed the greenhouse to mirror the Disney motion picture. SEE PAGE 32.
Pot shot nabs student Cuts looming
By Robert Hiltz
hilt0022@algonquincollege.com
Accusations by Algon-
quin’s residence against
an 18-year-old tenant
have shown that so-
cial media like YouTube
can be used as evidence
against students engaged
in behaviour contrary to
the college’s code of con-
duct.
The student was seen
by residence staff in a
series of YouTube vid-
eos posted by his friend
between September and
November 2009 smoking
marijuana.
After being confronted
by residence, he has since
signed a “behavioural
contract” which acknowl-
edges that he “admitted
to smoking marijuana in
[his] room.”
He has been ordered to
pay a $100 fine, complete
10 hours of community
service, attend an educa-
tional seminar “What’s
Wonderland of floral delights
with Weed” and write an
essay describing the nega-
tive effects of marijuana
use.
While the student has
admitted to the incident,
he has since decided to
appeal his case.
“No, we don’t look
at YouTube. We don’t
spy on our students in
anyway.”
Robert Gillett
President
“This indictment is an
outrage to me on many
levels. First of all, I was
extremely upset and per-
plexed with the way the
residence handled the
incident and the way in
which they contacted
me about it,” he said in a
written statement to the
Times.
“Secondly, I am upset
at the fact that YouTube
was used as a method of
catching me.”
DOCUMENTARY STUDENTS GO TO HAITI
PAGE 6
WWW.ALGONQUINCOLLEGE.COM/TIMES
Erik van Dijk, Algon-
quin residence general
manager, said in an e-
mail, however, “any in-
formation obtained via
media outlets such as
YouTube, Facebook, etc.
is considered public do-
main and therefore the
residence reserves the
right to investigate inci-
dents and subsequently
sanction behaviour if
needed.”
When asked how the
video was brought to the
attention of residence
staff van Dijk was unable
to provide comment due
to privacy concerns.
The college itself – dis-
tinct from residence –
does not have a specific
YouTube policy, but pres-
ident Robert Gillett said
Algonquin does not target
student behaviour.
“No, we don’t look at
YouTube. We don’t spy on
our students in anyway,”
he said.
“Sometimes people re-
fer things to us and say ‘I
don’t think that’s right.’
That’s a different question
than us looking for [You-
Tube videos].”
“If the residence is
[looking at YouTube], I’m
not aware,” he said.
When asked in an e-
mail if this was the first
time YouTube was used to
discipline a student, van
Dijk was “unable to pro-
vide specific information
directly relating to inci-
dents or students in the
residence.”
As for the reaction from
the student body, Mike
Hirsch, president of the
Student’s Association
said, “that’s the first time
I’ve ever heard of any-
thing like that at Algon-
quin. I don’t know of any
policy as far as that goes.”
The student, who ap-
pealed on the basis of
procedural fairness, is
waiting to hear if his case
will be considered by resi-
dence staff.
over college
By Tristan Worden
word0007@algonquincollege.com
Layoffs may be nec-
essary to cut $7 million
from the college’s oper-
ating budget.
President Robert Gil-
lett told the college’s
Board of Governors
March 8 that cuts may be
needed.
Gillett told the Times
the numbers are based
in part on estimates of
funding and inflationary
costs of utilities like heat,
gas and water.
“There probably will
be some layoffs this year,
unless the economic
news changes,” said Gil-
lett.
He did not speculate
on how many or what
jobs could be lost.
“Until we know the
exact numbers from the
March 18, 2010
Anique Wallace photo
government this is our
best estimate,” said Gil-
lett.
The numbers are only
approximations because
the provincial budget has
not been released.
“The throne speech
did give us some opti-
mism.”
Robert Gillett
President
That announcement
is expected later this
month.
The province recent-
ly promised increased
funding to Ontario col-
leges, which are some of
the poorest-funded insti-
tutions in the country.
“The throne speech
did give us some opti-
mism,” said Gillett.
See CUTS page 2