Januay24,2000 CU NEWS ver The Ego Page 3 U of Ottawa professor under U of Alberta considers affiliation with investigation for controversial exam question By Kate Heartfield OTTAWA (CUP) - A University of Ottawa microbiology professor is under investigation after he asked students how they would develop a bacterium to kill Quebec separatists, but not federalists. Robert Charlebois included the bonus question in his third- year microbiology exam in December. Following a media uproar, Charlebois sent each student a letter of apolo- gy saying he never meant to offend. The University has issued a strongly worded state- ment characterizing the question as containing “pio-terrorism,” and call- ing it “deplorable” and “clearly inappropriate.’ It apologized to anyone who might have been offended by the ques- tion. It was also pointed out in the statement that the University’s relationship with its professors is governed by a collective agreement and that an investigation was underway according to the processes set out in that agreement. According to the state- ment, Charlebois - who did not return phone calls - has been asked by science Dean Christian Detellier to provide an explanation of his actions. Both Héléne Carty, Marketing and o-op Student of the Position: Fisheries Technician Location: Prince George Work Term: 2 Can you imagine being paid to hike through the bush and fish? How sweet it is! According to Tamara Ross, that is the best part of working as a Fisheries Technician. Tamara is a Natural Resources Management Co-op Student who worked last semester for Environmental Dynamics. The experiences she had while working for Environmental Dynamics have enabled her to Communications direc- tor, and Lyse Huot, Marketing and Communications officer, could not be contacted by press time. Carty and Huot where the ones who released the official University statement. The controversial question read: “It is the year 2000 and you are employed by the gov- ernment. Using your knowledge of microbiol- ogy and transmission of infections, find a bac- terium to eliminate Quebecois separatists, but not federalists.” Week: Tamara Ross Company: Environmental Dynamics Employment Period: 4 months establish contacts and has verified for her that sh has found the right field. It has taught her how t work with different people and has fostered he adaptability to various work situations. “I would never have had the opportunity for experiences lik this if it wasn’t for Co-op. | am able to get a bette job now because of experience and contacts. |’ also using things now that | learned in class that | never thought I’d use or that didn’t seem importan at the time. Co-op work experience helps you pre pare for your future classes better.” advice to future co-op students is, “start looking fo jobs early, apply for as many jobs as possible, be flexible as well as open minded, and don’t wait until the last minute.” Tamara’s top three reasons why student should opt for Co-op: 1. Less chance to have to need to take out student loan - BIG BONUS! 2. Co-op lets you verify that you are in the righ field and it helps you become well rounded. 3. Getting contacts in your field. By Michael Winters EDMONTON (CUP) - The University — of Alberta is: the latest school to enter into the debate on the relation- ship between corpora- tions and universities. The University’s Student Union (SU) is currently looking at whether to allow book giant Chapter’s to run the campus bookstore. Student politicians say the plan could result in — lower textbook costs for students. “We’ve found that students are not shopping at the University Bookstore because they can find books much cheaper at Chapters,” said Leslie Church, the SU’s vice- president (external). “Chapters gets a larger discount from publish- ers than the University Bookstore simply because they’re such a large client.” Tamara’ In addition to lobbying for larger tax exemp- tions and the removal of GST on_ textbooks, Church says that bring- ing larger distributors to campus is worth looking into if it means students have cheaper _ text- books. However, Church cautioned, “One of the things | would need to be convinced of is that Chapters would keep their bookstore prices competitive in the market. “Right now they are much lower, partial- ly because they're trying to capture the student market, and in some cases they have taken losses on the textbooks they try to sell just to get students in the doors.” TJ Adhiheitty, SU vice- president (academic), stressed that the SU simply wants to keep an open mind while looking for more _ affordable options for students. He added that working with the University1s admin- istration, which owns the bookstore, is key. “We have made contact with certain administra- tors who understand the big concern with rising tuition and looking at ways to lessen the cost for students as they come to university,’ said Adhihetty. “We have no constructive plan right now, which is a good thing for us, because then we can develop something alongside the administration.” Adhihetty also noted the possibility that a large corporation like Chapters might not be interested in a deal with students. “Does a large conglomerate want our business? Is it possi- ble? Would it be cheap- er? Can the bookstore compete?” he asked. “Those are the type questions we’re trying to answer alongside with the administration so that they can see the research we're doing.” Some campus work- ers, however, already have answers to some of Adhihetty’s ques- tions. Julio Pinchea, manager of the University Bookstore, said he can’t contend with Chapters. 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