The toban quickie

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JENELLE PETRINCHUK STAFF

Not every university gets celebrities to flip free pancakes for students in the mornings, but the U of M did last week. UMSU held its annual Celebration Week, which included actor Ken Davitian, from the hit 2006 movie Borat, participating in events and letting students in on little-known secrets about the making of the film. Did you know he made friends with a real bear-cub named Charlie during production?

The week also included a chance for students to enjoy various musical activities, sample wine, visit a farmer’s market and listen to Justin Trudeau’s spin on our environmental problems (and no, he didn’t just regurgitate Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth).

In other news, a new lab at the U of M will be finished as early as August of this year. Termed the Chemistry Lab of Excellence, the lab will be technology-focused, and the most advanced of its kind in Western Canada.

U of M is also developing globally as a new research lab in Kenya just opened its doors. Through a collaboration of various universities including the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia and Oxford University, the $4-million project will involve various research programs on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. This is another important step for the U of M that has had researchers based in Kenya for the past 25 years.

UMSU is still hard at work promoting lower tuition costs, and is extremely excited about the upcoming day of action. The students’ union has also just finished a hard and long fight with issues pertaining to the Health and Dental plan. Over the past few months tears were shed in the UMSU office, as a mix up in the list of students who wanted to opt out of the plan caused some major problems.

Other universities across the country also have big news. The University of Alberta claims to have found a potential, effective treatment for cancer, though a lack of private investment could slow the testing stage of this 70-year-old potential cure.

Hopefully January will prove to be the coldest month of 2007, as Winnipeggers can be proud to say they’ve lived through -50 degree weather — no wonder Davitian said he was glad the naked fight scene didn’t take place in Winnipeg . . . .

Jenelle Petrinchuk, news editor