McMaster may not be a Harvard yet, but on a global scale, we are one of the best.
We can all attend school safely, we receive funding, we don't need bribes or 'deposits to reserve seats' to be accepted, we're a government recognized post secondary institute, and we can say that we're from McMaster without a torrent of laughs.

To me, that does constitute being one of the best.
I completely agree that we can do so much better, especially to support such a massive student population but that does not mean we're not good right now.

im not saying give me a break on your stance, rather how the less privileged in society are the ones to bare the costs of these 'tough economic times'.

Originally Posted by goodnews.inc

McMaster may not be a Harvard yet, but on a global scale, we are one of the best.
We can all attend school safely, we receive funding, we don't need bribes or 'deposits to reserve seats' to be accepted, we're a government recognized post secondary institute, and we can say that we're from McMaster without a torrent of laughs.

To me, that does constitute being one of the best.
I completely agree that we can do so much better, especially to support such a massive student population but that does not mean we're not good right now.

Ahh I'm not sure if McMaster is progressing though; People blame the recession but we have declined in the Times online rankings by a good margin this year. Obviously rankings aren't the all and end but they are a decent indicator!

Originally Posted by huzaifa47

Ahh I'm not sure if McMaster is progressing though; People blame the recession but we have declined in the Times online rankings by a good margin this year. Obviously rankings aren't the all and end but they are a decent indicator!

Could you post a link please, Huzaifa?
That's fascinating and worth learning about.

http://thesil.ca/blog/featured/mcmas...rade-globally/

Huzaifa will probably find the original link, but I just saw this article from the Silhouette that talks about Times Online and McMaster's position. There is a long way to go... we're not perfect but we're not horrible either.

Originally Posted by goodnews.inc

Could you post a link please, Huzaifa?
That's fascinating and worth learning about.

http://www.topuniversities.c om/uni...ter-university

This one actually shows the faculty breakdowns and historic trends

Originally Posted by huzaifa47

http://www.topuniversities.c om/uni...ter-university

This one actually shows the faculty breakdowns and historic trends

Now your "Thanks" and "Likes" are equivalent at 101

Originally Posted by ramirez.a

This is all too hypocritical.

The typical argument I've heard against CUPE and in support of the University Admin has been the: " These are tough economic times... their isn't enough revenue.. the union is asking for too much"

I have not seen a single person on this thread use that argument except for you. Although there may be some people who do use it, at the moment it's a red herring and it's just you trying to direct the discussion the way you want it to go.

Originally Posted by MrFryingFish

I have not seen a single person on this thread use that argument except for you. Although there may be some people who do use it, at the moment it's a red herring and it's just you trying to direct the discussion the way you want it to go.

Exactly.

All the pro-CUPE people (who I'm not entirely sure why they're pro-CUPE based on their posts, they should in theory be pro-TA, not pro-CUPE) keep saying people are annoyed about the strike for X, or against the strike because they disagree with CUPE's demands.

I have seen only a few people say they disagree with the strike because they think the demands CUPE has made on behalf of the TAs are too much, or unreasonable. Most of the arguments against CUPE aren't against their demands but rather their tactics and the way they are now treating their membership.

There's a huge difference between not agreeing with CUPE'S demands and not agreeing with how CUPE is choosing to conduct itself and treat our TAs.

Originally Posted by ramirez.a

*education is not a commodity to profit out of*

Unfortunately, that's not how North American post-secondary institutions view education . We sadly DON'T live in a society where education is valued solely for the attainment of knowledge -- Socrates would be a sad fellow if he ever saw the US and Canada.

Originally Posted by ramirez.a

I find it hard to believe that some students can justify a unilateral decision of a $1.4 million bonus, and argue that union demands are *too much*.

Keep in mind, PG will have a $300,000 annual pension. WHY is an extra $100,000 necessary???? ESPECIALLY out of students pockets when it is an undeniable fact that students are continuously being engulfed in debt.

It's understandable that students who agree with this bonus come from a economically privileged background - because regardless of tuition hikes, it won't effect them as they are economically well off.

But for many students who are on student loans and make extraordinary amounts of sacrifice to obtain a higher education, it is impossible to agree or associate ourselves with these practices. In fact, it would be outright ludicrous to.

This is ridiculous to me - I come from a blue collar background with zero support financially from family. I'm an older first year student and I worked my butt off to get together the money to pay for this year. I have no problem with Peter George's pension or bonus because what others are saying is absolutely true; he turned this school into a place where I would move out of my city, paying more in living costs, to attend, (so instead of working 50 hours/week while doing "full-time" correspondence schooling, I worked 60). He made this university a place where when I go back and see my friends at Laurier, Guelph and Waterloo, they're impressed.

Please don't make assumptions about what (other) non-privileged students think.

And for the record, I do not agree with CUPE or their actions as a union and I am unapologetically socialist/leftist. We're not all cut from the same cloth.