Here be the page for Insiders story ideas.
Short, possibly time-sensitive pieces
- Interview with the New VP Students
What’s her deal?
- Two New houses at Totem
I hear they’ll have funny names.
- UBC Central
Name change. What were they thinking?
- Koerner’s Pub
Now that everyone’s basically forgotten they existed, are they really gonna open in time for September?
Opinion-ish
- Gage South
Students don’t want non-student housing there. But the university is so set on that concept, they can’t imagine anything else going there. Propose a vision for Gage South.
- Housing Action Plan
The university is looking really heavily at how they can improve housing options for faculty, staff and students on campus, with the orders coming directly from the board of governors. Aside from simply adding capacity, what can SHHS do to improve the housing experience for students at UBC?
- VoterMedia Funding
In the 2011-2012 AMS budget, there is no funding allocated yet for VoterMedia, and given the deficit, it could be cut. Should the AMS maintain the funding at the current $8000? Do the current VoterMedia entrants deserve the funds they receive? How has the VoterMedia landscape changed since the contest was started in 2007?
- Concerts on Campus
Recently, UBC built a new 7,000 seat arena as a venue for the 2010 Olympics. This arena is far larger than is necessary for UBC’s hockey team or recreational use. The original idea was that it would be used as a mid-size concert venue but due to some major liquor infractions, they lost their liquor licence.
UBC Athletics, which runs the facility, is working hard to get the facility back up as a concert venue but are meeting stiff resistance from residents who live near the arena about concerns over noise and generally rowdy behaviour. Tell the residents why they shouldn’t be so uptight about it.
Some research required, but not too much
- Does UBC need another grocery store?
Yes. There isn’t one planned. But they’re going to need at least another one when things are fully built out.
- What is Hatchet Lager?
Mahony and Sons is the most expensive bar on campus with one exception: Hatchet Lager. Hatchet is the cheapest everyday beer on campus, cheaper even than the student bars. There’s something odd about the most expensive bar serving the cheapest pitcher. What the heck is Hatchet lager and why is it so cheap?
- UBC Housing Lottery
Every year the demand for residence at UBC far exceeds the supply. In order to deal with this demand, UBC Housing runs a lottery every year to determine who is offered spots. Is this lottery legal? (Hint: maybe not…) Are there better alternatives out there?
Investigative
- UBC Animal Research
An organization called Stop UBC Animal Research appeared out of nowhere a little while back and has been actively postering campus to get their message out. On first glance it doesn’t seem like this group is grassroots as they claim, it seems like there must be a larger organization behind the campaign. Who are they really, and is there anyone else behind this? What do they want exactly? (Their posters only ask for people who have witnessed cruelty to animals at UBC, but do they just want to stop cruelty, or ALL animal testing at UBC?)
- VPD on campus?
UBC’s contract with the RCMP expires in 2013. The City of Vancouver has a policy on the books whereby UBC can use Vancouver’s municipal services if they wish. (They have to pay, of course, but we already do it – the firehall on campus is run by Vancouver’s fire department.) At UBC, and in BC in general, the RCMP doesn’t have the greatest reputation. Examine the pros/cons of having VPD on campus instead of RCMP.
- Fraternity Code of Conduct
Like all land on campus, UBC retains ownership of the land the fraternity houses are built on, but leases it to the frats on a 99-year lease. In the lease, there is a code of conduct which in theory allows UBC to evict the frats if they do not conform to it. It’s on a points system – accumulate enough points and you’re out, resets annually. Points have been awarded in the past, and usually the frats disagree with the charges against them. Publicize the fact that the code of conduct exists, and examine whether the conditions and enforcement of it are both reasonable and realistic.
Data Heavy
- Residence Contracts
We have all of the residence contracts going back for the last decade, though some will likely have to be OCR’d. There’s a program that can take documents and find all the changes in them. How has the residence contract changed over the years?
- Naming Buildings
How much to name a building after yourself? The student on the university committee charged with naming things on campus has all the documents about how much various donors paid to put their names on various buildings. Catalogue the data, see what interesting things come out. (Ex. Some people are upset with the human rights records of mining companies who have donated to the university)
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