As news unfolded about the identity of the Virginia Tech gunman, buzz online took on a racially charged tone on the Web site Facebook, wrote The Toronto Star April 18. It’s the stereotype – Korean students as video-game-addled outcasts – that worries Jason Hong, president of York’s Korean Student Association.
"Yes, a lot of Korean students play video games, but I totally disagree with any connection people are trying to make," Hong said in a telephone interview. "He just happened to be Korean and no one knows if video games had anything to do with it. The games nowadays are more violent, but it’s not just Korean students playing them, it’s everybody."
- Gun violence has occurred at GTA universities and colleges despite uniformed patrols and yearly emergency reviews, wrote The Toronto Sun April 18, in a roundup of how GTA institutions handle security. Two months ago, a robber stole wallets from several students without firing a shot from his gun in an open area at York’s Keele campus. "Universities aren’t armed fortresses, and shouldn’t be," said Alex Bilyk, York’s director of media relations. York has uniformed security officers. But even if they were armed [as in Virginia], Bilyk said, "how do you thwart the actions of a madman?"
Milliken home doubled as fake document factory
A document factory operating out of a Milliken home may have issued thousands of fake post-secondary diplomas and government documents, say York Regional Police, wrote the Markham Economist & Sun and Richmond Hill Liberal April 14.
Documents seized by investigators also included Ontario drivers’ licences, documents used in the production of passports, passports from the People’s Republic of China and blank certificates from universities and colleges across Canada – including Seneca College, York University, University of Toronto, Carleton University and The University of Western Ontario.
Spivak back with Israel at South Korean worlds
Stouffville Spirit defenceman Daniel Spivak collected one assist and was plus-one for the Israeli men’s hockey team at the 20007 International Ice Hockey Federation Group B – Division II tournament in South Korea, wrote the Stouffville Sun April 14. The York University student was the youngest player to play for the Israeli team in the 2005 IIHF championships.
Schulich team heads for Hong Kong business competition
A team of students studying at York’s Schulich School of Business has advanced to the semi-final round of one of Canada’s leading business plan competitions, wrote the North York Mirror April 17. Andrew Lee, Chi Wah (Eva) Lee, Tong (Annie) Li, Fan Jiang, Alysha Jetha, Kevan Hammer and Xiao Yan (Clare) Qu will compete in the semifinals of the Hong University of Science and Technology international business plan competition May 3-5. The group are international MBA students. They will present business plans for a new venture before an international panel of judges made up of venture capitalists and executives. Up to $25,000 in total prizes are available.
Maestro leads by the beat of his drum
There are so many sides to Trichy Sankaran, it’s no wonder he’s the master of the mrdangam, wrote The Toronto Sun April 18. Renowned for his handling of the two-sided, barrel-shaped drum, the music professor in York’s Faculty of Fine Arts uses the mrdangam to bring together different cultures and styles of music. "My earliest experimentation (with fusion music) was in 1976 with electronic music at York University that was titled Alpha Taichi Tala," Sankaran said. "It was a combination of Indian, Chinese and electronics."
Since joining York in 1971 as founding director of Indian music studies, he has taken the Music Department to new heights, drawing students from around the world because they know they can learn from a great master, wrote the Sun. "Music brings peace within one self and through music we bring human beings together," Sankaran said. "Music is meditation and also used as sonic healing."
Bringing together Derrida and Howe
Head down, legs pumping, the visor on his hockey helmet foggy from heavy breathing, York alumnus and University of Victoria English Professor James Dopp (PhD ‘92) struggled desperately to get back to his post on defence, wrote The Globe and Mail April 18. Like so many boys, the rigours of bodychecking and more physical play as he got older led him to pursue other interests.
On air
- Debra Pepler, psychology professor in York’s Faculty of Health and a researcher in York’s Lamarsh Centre for Research on Violence & Conflict Resoution, said she thinks “cyber-bullying” will eventually be made illegal, on CBC Radio’s “Here and Now” April 17.