OVER THE EDGE November 21-December 5, 2007 Aqua Dots Hospitalize Kids Smaran LEHAL Srarr Writer Move over un- locked medicine cab- inets and irrespon- sible babysitters — defective toys are the new hot hazard threatening the health and safety of children worldwide. In addi- tion to reports of lead contaminated toys appearing almost weekly from major newsfeeds, there is now growing concern over toys laced with substances similar to date-rape drugs. Concern has arisen after eight children became seriously ill after exposure to Aqua Dots, a popu- lar made-in-China toy distributed across ® be FS i North America and Australia. A change in the chemical used to make Aqua Dots (from 1,5-pentanediol to 1,4-butanediol) has . led to numerous chil- dren being hospital- ized for GHB-like ef- fects — some children have entered deep’ comas while others have suffered from hallucinations and seizures. Although it is not yet known how the toxic chemical wound up on con- sumer shelves, there is speculation that 1,4-butanediol was substituted in order to reduce production costs. Since the in- itial scare last week, Aqua Dots products im over 40 countries have been recalled. This recall is yet an- other dent in China’s already questionable safety record. While North America main- tains the “nét in my backyard” mentality, refusing to accept industrial and chem- ical plants cropping up in North Amer- ican communities, China has taken the tole of manufacturer of the world — but not without costs. A rapidly growing economy, coupled with the world’s in- creasing demand for cheap goods, has led to the neglect of safe production practices. Earlier this year, the Chinese government acknowledged _ that over 1000 tons of goods were found to be “very to extremely unsafe.” Yet, second- tate goods are still making their way across the Pacific — a record-breaking 472 China-made _ toys, tires, and food items have been recalled this year in North America alone. With the latest GHB scare, toymakers are concerned over consumer reaction during the upcom- ing holiday season. One-third of parents polled in a recent US study have planned to avoid purchasing Chinese-made goods for their over the holidays — a tough feat since ap- proximately 80% of toys sold worldwide are made in China. children © How well can you save money? November 6, 2007, To- ronto, ON - A penny for your thoughts? How about a million pennies? As part of its mission to help Can- adians save their money, ING DIRECT .today an- nounced the launch of the Canadian Superstar Saver Search. The online video contest, featured on You- Tube Canada, aims to cap- ture the great lengths Can- adians go to when it comes to saving their money. Two $10,000 grand prizes will be awarded, one each for the best original English and French videos. The contest is the first to be fea- tured on www.youtube.ca, which officially launched today. To demonstrate some of the creative ways people attempt to save a dollar, the online video to promote the contest shows vignettes of a young man emptying fast I@s Official...We’re Not Just a Party School!” food ketchup pouches into a bottle, a women rubbing a paper perfume sample from a magazine all over her body, someone wiping up a water spill on his kitchen counter then hanging up the paper towel to dry; and a woman cutting her own hair (un- evenly). To view the video, visit www. ingdirect.ca/superstar- saver . “Tt’s always been our mis- sion to revolutionize the way Canadians think about sav- ing,” said Mark Deep, Head of Marketing at ING DIR- ECT. “The Canadian Super- star Saver Search is a unique way for us to encourage and reward creative savings ideas and to inspire Canadians to save their money. While the contest is fun and suggests outrageous ways to save, we hope that more people will start thinking about putting away a few extra dollars. Looking north on campus at the newer wings of UNBC, best in the west and fourth overall primarily undergraduate university. Many of our clients are really surprised by how easily it adds up over time.” Consumers may submit their original two-minute videos on YouTube.ca now through January 15, 2008.A panel of judges will narrow down the entries to the top 10 English and the top 10 French videos. Voting will be open to the Canadian YouTube commun- ity between January 17, 2008 and January 31, 2008. The winners, one English and one French, revealed on www. youtube.ca on February 1, 2008, will receive an ING DIRECT Investment Savings Account with $10,000. To learn more about the ING DIRECT Superstar Saver Search, visit www.ing- direct.ca/superstarsaver . -PHoTo Courtesy oF Mircu GRANT Micueite Martins Ews Epiror That’s right, let’s all raise our glasses to aclean’s 17th Annual University Ranking hich placed UNBC at the fourth spot for excellence in undergraduate studies. Since pening its doors in 1994, UNBC has been Poking the rap for not being as serious as its southern counterpart UBC and its student ody has acquired a reputation for their ques- ionable, late night “extra curricular activ- ities”. Because UNBC is so small and young [: is often overlooked and disregarded as not eing a real institution. So I say what consti- tutes an institution? L Ee =) Ss Ea =) In the past, Maclean’s rankings were col- lective results on six areas including stu- dent quality, faculty quality, and research. This year Maclean’s took an entirely new approach and based all their acknowledges on any publicly available data from sources such as Statistics Canada, three major federal granting agencies and the Canadian Associa- tion of Research Libraries. However, this wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted to know what made UNBC unique from a true UNBC-er. Strictly from an ob- server’s stand point the diversity in UNBC students is obvious. No one looks the same. Everyone seems comfortable in their own element. Everyone has a voice and practices it incisively in and outside of class. UNBC is so intriguing I wish I could sit down with everyone involved, faculty and students in- cluded. While this seems impossible for me to do, I did get the chance to talk to someone who has come close, Dean of Student Suc- cess, Paul Madak. I went to Dean Madak with the intention of gaining insight from an in depth, personal perspective such as his. The conversation with Dean Madak was smooth, comfortable, and casual. Going into his office I didn’t feel intimidated or like I was on lesser ground. It was then my first UNBC epiphany came to me... None of my professors have ever treat- ed me like I was just a student. In fact, most = Ee = of my professors not only knew my name but could also remember the most compel ling argument from the last paper I handed i when I’d place the essay back in their hands. When talking with Dean Madak he note one thing that separates UNBC from the lar. ger, southern schools is the students’ ability to have a more personal (and therefore ra instrumental) interaction with faculty. No- where else could a student get such a precise, one on one counseling with their professor. I can only hope that recognition by Mac- lean’s will thwart the ignorance that as- sumes UNBC students are irresponsible, un informed, barely there patsies.