From the Editor: Matthew Jenkins

A collective sigh of relief was breathed by members of this community last week when the presidential candidate was finally revealed. The lengthy standing ovation that Dr. Jonathan Raymond and his wife Irene received is testament to the fact that the TWU community is more than ready to take the next step of the journey.

This year has been full of uncertainties: the harassment case and the resulting appearances in local and national media have left students, staff, and faculty feeling vulnerable. And yet, among all the confusion, we have begun to make a name for our university outside our borders.

Last Thursday evening the Board of Governors of Trinity Western University voted to appoint Dr. Jonathan S. Raymond as the next President of TWU, effective July 1, 2006.

After undergoing the lengthy search and selection process, Raymond met last Thursday with various campus groups, including faculty, staff, President’s Cabinet, and executives from the TWU Student Association and Graduate Student Association. Friday morning, Raymond was introduced at chapel.

Faculty who met Raymond last Thursday were impressed.

“He had an easy-going manner which opened the faculty up to him,” said John Dyck, Professor of Political Studies. “He wasn’t afraid to answer tough questions.”

From March 13-18, Trinity Western University students had the chance to become more environmentally aware. The Trinity Environmental Advocates (TEA) club planned a variety of events to celebrate Earth Week, including a story telling session, nature walks, and a creation care lecture.

“Basically we just want to get people aware of the effect they have on the environment in their day-to-day lives,” said TEA President Martin Rekers.

TEA also hoped to raise student awareness about the sensitivity of the Back 40. On a display table in the cafeteria, the club showcased several bags of trash that had all been picked up from the Back 40.

The vending machines will face some competition now that students can buy chocolate bars with their food cards. The Lower Caf has yielded to students’ suggestions that it serve ice cream and chocolate to curb those late-night munchies. A freezer stocked with Cyclones, Raspberry fruit bars, Fudgcicles, and the infamous Ben and Jerry’s is squeezed behind the register.

Because the cafeteria in the Reimer Student Centre has refused to sell chocolate bars, their presence in the LC is a real treat. Selection has been stingy with only a few varieties to choose from–only Kit Kat, Snickers, Aero and Twix –but the choices may increase with popularity.

ST. CATHARINES, ON. (CUP)– Talks between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the College Compensation and Appointments Council (CCAC) broke down late Monday night, prompting some 9,000 faculty and staff at Ontario’s colleges to walk off the job.

The employees at Ontario’s 24 colleges were negotiating a new collective agreement, but could not agree on details by the March 7 deadline. According to Niagara College President Dan Patterson, the OPSEU employees are asking for a 12.6 per cent pay raise over four years that will ensure that Ontario college teachers and staff remain the highest paid in Canada.

MONTREAL (CUP)–For the tenth year in a row, Montreal was the scene of a heated anti-police-brutality demonstration. Established in 1997 as an initiative of Switzerland’s Black Flag organization and the Montreal-based Collective Opposé à la Brutalité Policière, the demonstration is meant to highlight the excessive use of power regularly attributed to the Montreal PD.

As the group set out on their meandering march, squeegees became implements of destruction against provincial election signs, while garbage cans and other debris were strewn across the streets.

As of March 1, Trinity Western University’s Laurentian Leadership Centre in Ottawa is without an Executive Director. Paul Wilson has resigned from the position to become the Senior Policy Advisor to Canada’s new Minister of Justice, the Honorable Vic Toews.

“I have talked with Paul over the last couple of years about the possibility of him leaving,” said Professor John Dyck, academic liasion for the LLC, “[so] I wasn’t so much surprised by [his resignation] as by it happening midway through the semester…it came about because the Conservatives won control of government.”

Cafeteria food: we love it or we hate it, but the reality for many residents at Trinity Western University is that we can’t live without it.

Not all students, however, are happy with the cafeteria. While the quality of food is a concern for many students who would like to see better fruit and healthier options, one of the most consistent complaints concerns money.

“Last semester I had to put 600 extra dollars on my card, and I was even eating at home every weekend to cut down the costs,” said first year student Adrian Richards.