The Ryerson Free Press mysteriously halts publication

Stands, stands everywhere, but not a paper to read. (Photo by Dasha Zolota/The Eyeopener)

Well this is certainly weird. From The Eyeopener:

The Ryerson Free Press (RFP) will stop publishing for the foreseeable future after the abrupt departure of editor-in-chief Clare O’Connor, who is now entrenched in legal proceedings with the Continuing Education Students’ Union of Ryerson (CESAR), the paper’s publisher.

“Through a series of unfortunate events, it appears that our October issue is postponed indefinitely,” said James Burrows, the RFP’s news editor, in documents obtained by The Eyeopener.

“I unfortunately can’t [say] any more than that, as I don’t know any more, other than we no longer have an [editor-in-chief] and there appears to be no plans on the part of CESAR, our publisher, to hire one.”

One of Ryerson’s three campus newspapers, the RFP is an alternative publication aimed at part-time and continuing education students.

It is largely staffed by members of CESAR and publishes on a monthly basis.

O’Connor, who was in her first semester as editor-in-chief of the RFP after taking the reins from long-time editor Nora Loreto, published the September issue of the paper before her departure. Under the RFP’s mandate, they are unable to publish both online and print articles without a sitting editor-in-chief.

The circumstances surrounding O’Connors departure and the status of her legal proceedings with CESAR remain murky.

Student union to strategically review The Gazette at Western

They're investigating the newspaper! It's like Britain!! Ahh! (Photo by Ritchie Sham/The Gazette)

The Gazette, the student newspaper at the University of Western Ontario (or Western University, or whatever the hell they're calling themselves these days) will be undergoing a "strategic review" conducted by the University Students' Council, Western's student union.

From The Gazette's story:

For once, the Gazette will not be the one reviewing the University Students’ Council. Last Wednesday, council voted to undertake a strategic review of the paper. According to the USC standards, the Gazette is long overdue for an assessment.

“We like to review all our operations to ensure that they meet certain standards for our organization,” Jeremy Santucci, vice-president communications for the USC, explained. “The Gazette hasn’t been looked at in five years or so, so we want to look at the operational structure and ensure that it’s operating as a tight ship.”

The review will look at the organization and operation of the Gazette, which is Canada’s only daily student newspaper and is paid for by a student fee of $15.39 per student, as well as by advertising revenue.

“It will be focusing on the overall organizational structure of the Gazette to ensure it’s […] operating like a modern newspaper should be,” Santucci said. “It will be more in-depth because it will be more on the operational side, but the inherent implications will be financial.”

More after the jump:

The Salvation Army responds to The Ubyssey

(Photo courtesy of tojosan/Flickr)

In response to The Ubyssey's decision to not run an advertisement by the Salvation Army, the philanthropic organization has submitted a letter to their editorial board.

My name is Graham Moore and I am the public relations and development secretary for the Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda. I am writing in response to your recent editorial, “Why we declined to run an advertisement from the Salvation Army: an open letter,” in order to clear up some discrepancies and paint a clearer picture of the work that the Salvation Army has done in Canada for the last 130 years.

First, the Salvation Army in Canada has a long history of serving those in need without discrimination. All of our social and community services are equally available, based only on need and according to the capability of the Army to serve. We uphold the dignity of all people and believe that all are equal in the eyes of God, regardless of sexual orientation. We firmly oppose the vilification and mistreatment of gays and lesbians.

Secondly, the Salvation Army is a Christian organization, founded on Christian values and biblical standards. However, this has no negative effect on our extensive social work, which is supported by public donations. We are the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in this country, serving more than 1.8 million people each year. In fact, it is our faith that motivates us to help anybody in need, regardless of who they are.

While we understand that it is ultimately up to you and your editorial board to choose which advertisements to run in your newspaper, I hope that you may reconsider knowing a little more background about the Salvation Army and the work that we do.

I do hope that this helps to answer your questions and address your concerns.

Graham Moore
Public Relations and Development Secretary
The Salvation Army
Headquarters for Canada and Bermuda
Toronto, Ontario