That being said, I really appreciate the too much TV warning. Which is why I'm finishing off 8 seasons of Scrubs now.
That can-do attitude, ladies and gentlemen, is what we need in this day and age.

Originally Posted by PTGregD

Leah McLaren is a columnist for Globe Style.

Leah McLaren is a sl*t.

I agree, this isn't the only article where she is spouting such misleading erosion of moral fibre for the sake of journalistic greed.

I did look up a few of her articles after I read Greg's post and they are full of similar nonsense. Paying $7000 a year and starting the most important year of the rest of your lives is not the same as being a 30 something promiscuous single professional that she is. Why she is dishing out the same advice to 19 year olds is unknown!

Just b/c she has a point of view you don't agree with still doesn't make her a slut. Especially considering you don't know her and what she actually does in her personal life.

Last time I checked it wasn't okay to hurl around derogatory terms at people who's lifestyles, choices, opinions etc differ from your own.

Originally Posted by sew12

Just b/c she has a point of view you don't agree with still doesn't make her a slut. Especially considering you don't know her and what she actually does in her personal life.

Last time I checked it wasn't okay to hurl around derogatory terms at people who's lifestyles, choices, opinions etc differ from your own.

I'm not calling her a slut because she has a differing opinion. It's because of her SPECIFIC opinion that I, along with others who agree with me, are.

I'm sorry, but I call it like I see it.

Originally Posted by sew12

Just b/c she has a point of view you don't agree with still doesn't make her a slut. Especially considering you don't know her and what she actually does in her personal life.

Last time I checked it wasn't okay to hurl around derogatory terms at people who's lifestyles, choices, opinions etc differ from your own.

Actually, according to her own wording, she is one. I don't know her except through her words, which to me screams slut. Its not like it was an out of the blue insult, her opinions of what people "should do" in my opinion are wrong, and to most people are too. BTW

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slut
Slut or slattern is a pejorative term meaning an individual who is sexually promiscuous.

http://dictionary.reference. com/browse/slut
n.
A person, especially a woman, considered sexually promiscuous.

Originally Posted by BlakeM

Actually, according to her own wording, she is one. I don't know her except through her words, which to me screams slut. Its not like it was an out of the blue insult, her opinions of what people "should do" in my opinion are wrong, and to most people are too. BTW

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slut
Slut or slattern is a pejorative term meaning an individual who is sexually promiscuous.

http://dictionary.reference. com/browse/slut
n.
A person, especially a woman, considered sexually promiscuous.

Totally agree!

The article could have done without Leah McLaren's piece. I can see that she was trying to move in a direction that pertains to the thought of ''your only young once'' or ''you can get away with being stupid as a teen so go for it'' however there is a fine line between simply enjoying ones' youth, and being morally derailed.

Yeah yeah, you're all catholic priests now, but 90% of the kids i met in fist year lived exactly like this woman described.

Originally Posted by ViktorVaughn

Yeah yeah, you're all catholic priests now, but 90% of the kids i met in fist year lived exactly like this woman described.

Wow, did you ever know some messed up people first year :S

Victor, if they want to live like that that's their business, that's fine and dandy for their genitalia and strange objects.
However Leah is putting this forth as a valid opinion, on the website of an immensely popular newspaper, encouraging several university aged readers to pursue the irresponsible actions she described.
It's not a matter of being prudes or saying one thing and doing someone else, it's a matter of saying "Be as horny as you like, but use a condom or some pills."

I don't think...not wanting venereal disease and/or crabs and/or herpes simplex 2 and/or a baby is the same as wanting to be a Catholic priest.

I'm the first poster to discuss her inappropriate comments and I'm neither Catholic nor an aspiring priest.

Originally Posted by feonateresa

The guy who said you shouldn't kill yourself in the first year in terms of grades, is well, stupid. No offense to him, but, first year is important in terms of your culmulative GPA, which employers DO look at from time to time.

I actually consider this topic to be one that I somewhat speclialize in, and I strongly disagree. Depending on what you want to do, your GPA isn't necessarily super important. Unless you want to stay in academia or get into professional school, an average GPA with extra curriculars, work experience, volunteer experience and reference letters will do just fine.

First year is hardly important when it comes to grades (or at least it shouldn't be important) and that is why I'm researching and looking into making an MSU approved policy that states something along the lines of "the MSU strongly recommends and/or supports McMaster University adjusting the first year grading system to pass/fail.

I'm not going to discuss it here just yet since it's still in the preliminary phases (Research and such), but that is one of my big goals as an SRA member this year.

First year is hardly important when it comes to grades (or at least it shouldn't be important) and that is why I'm researching and looking into making an MSU approved policy that states something along the lines of "the MSU strongly recommends and/or supports McMaster University adjusting the first year grading system to pass/fail.

That would screw over so many people applying to graduate school. :|

I understand the principle behind it, but I wouldn't recommend it based on the previous sentence.

Originally Posted by Jay

That would screw over so many people applying to graduate school. :|

I understand the principle behind it, but I wouldn't recommend it based on the previous sentence.

No it wouldn't.... it could be easily worked around, for example by keeping a record of first year marks, but only applying them when a grad school application requires them. First year marks aren't usually required anyways... Mac is one of the very few schools that requires all four years worth of grades.

PS: MIT (one of the leading research universities in the world) has a pass-fail first year, which is my inspiration (along with the greif I've heard from tons of students))

Originally Posted by Taunton

No it wouldn't.... it could be easily worked around, for example by keeping a record of first year marks, but only applying them when a grad school application requires them. First year marks aren't usually required anyways... Mac is one of the very few schools that requires all four years worth of grades.

PS: MIT (one of the leading research universities in the world) has a pass-fail first year, which is my inspiration (along with the greif I've heard from tons of students))

Wrong:

University of Toronto's Med School program has a special weighting system where they drop a full-year course mark or two half-courses if you take a full year (30 units) of courses that have marks.

Queens has an alternate weighting system where they take your entire cGPA (or your two best years), Ottawa weights your marks (including first year if you're applying in you final year), NOSM takes your entire undergraduate. The only one that wouldn't be affected would be Western.

Plus if applying to the states, pass/fail doesn't really cut it for many schools.

Originally Posted by Jay

Wrong:

University of Toronto's Med School program has a special weighting system where they drop a full-year course mark or two half-courses if you take a full year (30 units) of courses that have marks.

Queens has an alternate weighting system where they take your entire cGPA (or your two best years), Ottawa weights your marks (including first year if you're applying in you final year), NOSM takes your entire undergraduate. The only one that wouldn't be affected would be Western.

Plus if applying to the states, pass/fail doesn't really cut it for many schools.

I'm hardly wrong... I said Mac was one of the very few. You've only named a few schools, or parts of schools for that matter.

If it was such a problem, then pass/fail wouldn't be used by so many schools (which in the States is becoming more and more common by the way). Some examples of American Schools which use some form of Pass/Fail: MIT, Millikin University, the University of Iowa, Yale University of Michigan, University of Illinois, Ohio State University, Stanford University, Tufts University of California (Berkeley), Syracuse University, Pennsylvania State University, Pomona College and Grinnell College. There are even more in the states and around the world... acting like my idea would mean nothing but trouble for students is frankly wrong.

Remember also, that I said there are ways to work around any perceived problems such as these.

Finally, remember that my idea is to implement this only for first year. Either way, I'm still in the middle of research, so I'm going to have to see what I come up with.