the journal Queen’s University
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Vol. 152, Issue 12
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F r i day , N ov e m b e r 1 , 2 0 2 4
Unsafe conditions push Canada’s only Master of Art Conservation program students to speak out Health risks and equipment shortages are causing students’ work to trickle in at a ‘snail’s pace’
is facing in providing necessary materials and equipment. “We’ve received our chemicals, but half of them are broken or in an unusable state. It’s just been a constant issue, we don’t have any of our analytical
Jonathan Reilly Assistant News Editor Eczema flare-ups, allergies, jackhammer sounds, and a lack of proper equipment are among the complaints from students in the Master of Art Conservation program. Queen’s is home to Canada’s only Master of Art Conservation program, where students can specialize in preserving paintings, artifacts, and paper objects or, conduct research in conservation science. With a $75 million USD donation from Bader Philanthropy Inc. towards the Agnes Reimagined project, the program will establish a new building featuring larger laboratories and workspaces, facilitate the purchase of new equipment, and support the hiring of additional professors. During the construction of the new building on 15 Bader Ln., which is expected to take two years to complete. Classes for the program were planned to be moved to Fleming Hall in the Jemmett Wing, however, the space infrastructure wasn’t in good enough condition to accommodate the expensive artwork, according to Quinn, a student in the program. In response to this issue, the University moved the program to Innovation Park, an off-campus facility. Much like Fleming Hall, it was unprepared for the students’ return in September. Consequently, the University cancelled the program’s labs for September, having completed the facility for an Oct. 4 start, Quinn told The Journal in an interview. According to Quinn*, the lab work is a major component of the students’ coursework, comprising about 70 percent of their curriculum. Students had to cancel their reading week, and extend their programs into December to make up for the lost time. Even though students have now started doing their labs at Innovation Park, concerns and problems persist, with Andreea Nita, a second-year Masters queensjournal.ca
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Situated on the
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NEWS — PAGE 2
Postdoctoral students face potential lockout LETTER TO THE EDITOR — PAGE 6
Modularization threatens Queen’s education BST — PAGE 7
Queen’s researcher named STAT Wunderkind ARTS & CUTLURE — PAGE 11
Untapped voting potential of American expats
Academic vision or conformity? equipment, FAS Faculty the stuff we do have is Board faces trickling in at a snail’s pace, critical decision
most of our study collection has been moved over, and we’ve The Master of Art Conservation program is facing lab issues. GRAPHIC BY SKYLAR SOROKA only just found most of our conservation materials student in the program, ask for a refund on that we use, it’s been pretty expressing some of tuition because we terrible,” Quinn* said. their concerns. haven’t received the Quinn* explained while “One of the biggest education we were promised,” faculty members specific to ones that I’m quite in Nita said. the Master of Art Conservation awe that the University “The issue right now program are putting in hasn’t responded to yet is is that we feel like there’s hard work to improve the obvious health and a separation between us upper administration from safety risks. There have and the administration—our the University haven’t been concerns about eczema voices aren’t being heard, been helpful. flare-ups, a lot of allergies, but we are willing to get “From the University side, being in a space that together and come up we got a placid response from the Dean’s [Norma Vorano] office after our first letter that was an acknowledgement of all the things we said with no action involved,” Quinn said, urging the University to personally come and see the conditions of their lab space. “Come talk to us, come see what it’s actually like to be in here. It’s noisy, it’s dusty, it’s unpleasant, it’s a bad space, and ignoring us isn’t going to help because we’re going to Construction in Art Conservation workspaces. keep asking for basic necessities,” Quinn* said. has hanging wires as with solutions together to The Journal reached you’re walking in. It’s fix this issue. We just out to Norman Vorano, just not addressed and want to be heard the department head of feels like we’ve been forgotten together as the whole program,” Art History and Art about,” Nita said in an interview Nita said. Conservation through the with The Journal. Quinn* echoes Nita’s concerns University for comment Nita explained how about health hazards, noting but didn’t receive a poor facilities are impacting excessive dust in the facility response in time their educational quality, is problematic and for publication. emphasizing concerns of some rooms are as cold missing equipment for as five degrees Celsius. They the program and how this said constant drilling, could negatively affect jackhammering, and other *Name changed to protect internship opportunities construction noise are the source’s identity after graduation. mentally taxing while “I think it’s fair to emphasizing issues the program @queensjournal
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Small class sizes at risk due to proposed curriculum changes Meghrig Milkon Senior News Editor
In pursuit of alignment, the University proposes significant reductions in degree requirements. As Queen’s prepares for another round of Faculty Board meetings on Nov. 22, Jenn Stephenson, Associate Dean (Academic), has introduced a new motion that’s been in development for the past year and a half regarding significant changes to its degree requirements. The proposed modifications will affect the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) or BAH, Bachelor of Computing (Honours) or BCMP, Bachelor of Science (Honours) or BScH, and Bachelor of Music (BMus) programs by transitioning them to a modular degree plan structure. The report emphasizes the need for these changes, allowing academic units to modify their degree plans by establishing minimum requirements while not imposing restrictions on others. According to the report, a typical major in the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) requires 60.0 units in BAH plans and 72.0 units in BScH plans, out of a total of 120.0 units. Both Arts and Science minors require 30.0 units. See News on page 2
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