Take five minutes out of your day to join Western News editor Jason Winders here each week for a collection of quick reads and interesting listens from Western and beyond.
NOT A GAME I CAN PLAY: Seriously, Adrian Budhram. Just give these a shot at solving: The Painter’s Headaches, The Terrible Stomachache and Dazed and Confused. Many reasons I am not that kind of doctor. Here are three.
UP IN SMOKE. As Ottawa prepares to legalize recreational marijuana, CBC Marketplace investigates how weed has changed since we didn’t do it. Western’s Dr. Steven Laviolette, one of Canada’s top researchers into the effects of marijuana on the brain, weighed in. Also, I would like to see Cypress Hill incorporated into more CBC News broadcasts.
WORDS TO LIVE BY. Recently spoke with Marie Wilson, BA’72 (French), MA’77 (Journalism), a former member of the truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, for an upcoming story in the Alumni Gazette. What a thoughtful, impressive human being. Could have listened to her all day. Her words came back to me as the university’s thoughts turned toward its Indigenous Strategic Plan. Wilson stressed the importance of every Canadian – including you – reading the commission’s 94 Calls to Action. Do so now.
“This is not just a project – it must become the new normal. We must be well-informed about each other’s histories and, as a result of that, we start to see each other in news ways and start to understand. The one thing I tell everyone is, you must read the 94 Calls to Action – which are not 94 pages, only a dozen pages – and ask yourself, ‘Where do I fit in?’ I am talking about everybody – either as a professional in a particular field, or as a parent, or as a member of a faith community, or an athletic organization, or as a member of the arts. What can I do? If everyone does that, we will start to see the changes we need to over the years ahead.”
NEVER GOING TO LET YOU GO. We are going to be talking about this for a long time. Couple more commentaries coming from some heavy-hitter faculty members on the pages on Western News. Look for them before the U.S. Presidential inauguration, Jan. 20 – and beyond. Also, I love how our illustration reminds me of my fave fictional political power player Leslie Knope.
WINGS OF MY FATHER. Duncan Hunter has few memories his father beyond a pile of old photographs and the stories his late mother left him. A mechanic in Westlock, Alta., a small town north of Edmonton, Ralph Hunter headed to war when his son was 3 years old. He disappeared into the Burmese jungle three years later. The mystery the father left behind has been in the back of the son’s mind for more than 70 years. Listen to the Western Chemistry professor emeritus share his story at the Western News Radio Hour.
THAT ISN’T GOING TO AGE WELL: Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch – a former Western professor – wrote an email to supporters after Donald Trump was elected president, saying “It’s an exciting message and one that we need delivered in Canada as well.” Let’s just say those words did not go unnoticed. Toronto physician, Western alumnus and Muslim Danyaal Raza penned a response piece that has been making the rounds. A chunk:
My medical school classmates were a remarkably diverse collection of individuals. We studied, struggled and celebrated together. Recalling those days, I wonder if Leitch saw us the same way we saw each other. Some of us were immigrants, others racialized and many spoke accented English. All of us have since embarked on careers of service and compassion.
Surveying the class as she lectured, did she think we all belonged? Did she think we shared her values, presumably the Canadian ones she has in mind? What does her campaign mean for those who think we don’t have a place in Canada?
BILLION-DOLLAR CLUB: Harvard is the world’s premier university for producing billionaires. According to Times Higher Education, the institution boasts 35 billionaires in its alumni with a collective net worth of $309 billion. In fact, it has almost three times as many billionaire graduates as second-placed Columbia University. Forbes has a handy info graphic.
What are you reading? Why are you reading it? If you have a submission for the Western News Morning Meeting, drop a line to jason.winders@uwo.ca.