B.C. Tidbits or Titbits: Take Your Pick

 

 This blog was abandoned over three weeks ago because I was in British Columbia for part of that time and have been experiencing trip-lag during the rest of it. Now the weather has turned and I am inside, without excuses, although I may have to come up with some if I can't increase my blogging output. 

  B.C. is a marvelous and scenic place and many interesting things happened there while I was in it, but not to me. Unless I include items relating to my children and grandchildren about whom you are not interested. Therefore, I will simply present past material about British Columbia, which is very interesting, but which you will likely not have read. In the academic world, where I was a minor citizen, presenting links to past work is known as "self-citation", and I am guilty of it here, but only for the legitimate reasons hinted at in this definition: "Self-citation occurs in an article when an author references another of their own publications. This can be a legitimate way to reference earlier findings; but self-citations can sometimes be unduly made in an attempt to inflate an individual's citation count."

  The good news for an increasingly small number of us is that British Columbia is still called "British Columbia." I had suggested that it was likely (and likely still is) to be given a new shiny name or a duller, pre-colonial one. See: "British Columbia or Sasquatchia? There is more good news (for a few) in that, although the elementary school which the grandchildren attend was retrofitted to withstand the coming earthquake, the name was not changed and remains as, "David Livingstone Elementary School." The Vancouver School Board "Archives & Heritage Blog," indicates that it was named for that David Livingstone, but apparently no one has read it or thought much about the name of the school. If they do, there will be a call for a change since it is now known that Livingstone should never have been on the African continent and Stanley should never have bothered looking for him. As an aside, it should be noted that the folks in London are perhaps more progressive than those in Vancouver. The father of the children who go to David Livingston, attended "Ryerson Public School" in London, which has now the very imaginative moniker, "Old North Public School."

  My post about B.C. last year was titled, "The Left Coast", not for political reasons, but because residents there once drove on the left-hand side of the road as a result of the retrograde attitudes of the British colonialists. Another, "Notes From the Coast", describes the "atmospheric rivers', which were flowing again this year.

  The crows which darken the often dark sky over Vancouver were still able to fly against the flow of the atmospheric rivers. See, a "Murder of Crows."

   Although we did not go to the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens and the Yosef Wosk Library located there, you can learn more about the philanthropist, Mr.,Dr.,Dr.,Rabbi Wosk by reading "Unexpected Libraries" or the section about him in, "Olde Posts Addenda."

  We also did not make it up to UBC, but I am sure it is still the "University of Beautiful Cars," since we saw many on the streets close by. I did not notice any 

Cullinans, but I did see a few Rivians. Other evidence of opulence abounds even though one sees many people apparently without homes. Back in the early years of the last century one could get a piece of property in B.C. by subscribing to a magazine, see: "Property in British Columbia."

  We did see the sculptures of Parviz Tanavoli at the Vancouver Art Gallery, but, being white, were made to feel somewhat guilty by another exhibition, "Conceptions of White" which was designed to help "viewers grapple with contemporary configurations of White identity." Those who created the rather crude collage probably aren't aware of "A Black Sculpture" found in a back yard elsewhere in the city. It was based on an event that happened many years ago on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where I grew up and which I would have more reason to feel guilty about if I thought guilt was heritable and that I was accountable for the historical acts of others.

   This has been a useful exercise for me, if not an enjoyable reading experience for you. I often don't properly "tag" posts in MM and had difficulty finding some of these that relate to B.C. There may be more. For example, you will learn about the "British Columbia Food History Network" in my post about "Food History." and about the "Angling Books" found in the "Harry Hawthorn Foundation Collection" at UBC.

The Bonus:

   If you want more old news from British Columbia, be sure to visit "BC Historical Newspapers" where you will find hundreds of digitized newspapers dating from the mid-1850s. Unfortunately there will be fewer of them in the future. Both the Alaska Highway News and the Dawson Creek Mirror recently stopped publishing. See:"As B.C. Communities Lose TheIr Last Newspapers, Hope Emerges For Locally Owned Publications," Kate Partridge, CBC News, Oct. 18, 2023.

Bad News From Brescia

    The main purpose here is to move down the page the previous rather depressing post about "Water," while I think of a new topic.  Nonetheless, readers will benefit from this rehashing of university-related items since the resulting hash relates to an important local news story during a time when there is not much reporting of the local news.

   There was some news from Brescia University College this week and it was characterized as “bad” by many who followed the stories. Apparently most of those who attend Brescia thought it was not good, because this statement currently appears on the BUC website:
"OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH OUR STUDENTS AND WE EMPATHIZE DEEPLY WITH THE WAYS THE NEWS ABOUT BRESCIA’S TRANSFORMATION HAS AFFECTED YOU."
One way the transformation may be characterized is to say that Brescia, after working hard to change its name from "Brescia College" to "Brescia University College," will now become what seems to be much more a mere "college” than it formerly was. 

   This does not seem to be a good decision to me, but given that Brescia is (or was) committed to educating women, I will not appropriate the subject and instead simply offer resources which might be of use to readers of any gender. I will move from general sources from this blog to more specific and helpful ones directly related to the likely diminishment of Brescia University College.

Potemkin Villages?

There is a lot of construction on campus with more to come

  One hopes that “Brescia-like” stories do not become common across campuses across the country, but that, if they do, perhaps the citizenry will become more concerned. Here are some posts that relate, tenuously in some instances, to the matter at hand.

Perhaps The Lack of Money Is The Problem

  This post titled, “Bloomberg” was really about Johns Hopkins University and the massive amount of money it received from Michael Bloomberg. Actually, the post was mainly about money and in it there is a lament for Laurentian. Since none of you are likely to bother to read the post, here is the “Bonus” it contained. Do at least read it. The subject is Canadian universities about one hundred years ago. Not much has changed:

   The universities had no contact with one another. Most of them had been conceived, born, and nourished for sectarian purposes, and all were very poor. Because they were poor they were ill-nurtured, and were as a rule at odds with one another. Professors were badly paid, libraries were meagre, laboratories were few and scantily equipped, museums hardly existed. The provincial treasurers, harassed by other demands for which they were afraid to tax their constituents, took advantage of the divided interests of the colleges to refuse aid impartially to all. From: Fifty Years Retrospect: Canada, 1882-1932.

Ivory Towers in the Eastern Provinces

   In this one you will learn that Canada actually has “Maple League Universities.” In the “Bonus’ section you will also learn about other "Ivies" including the "Public Ones" and the "Hidden Ones." Unfortunately you will also find out that I thought Brescia was doing quite well back then, but offered some advice if it was ever needed. 

A Purpose For Brescia
   It is not quite clear what Brescia is to become, but it appears that it is to be a place for students not quite ready for university. Rather than teaching mainly women, Brescia will now focus on "prep courses for international and domestic students", even though the London International Academy is apparently doing that at two locations in downtown London
   If the merger fails and the lovely location is not usurped by the city for a "Homeless Hub," I suggest going after more mature students, many of whom will have already been to university. It is quite a trend and much more exciting for professors who won't have to teach elementary English or arithmetic. Seniors are flocking back to university towns and many are even roosting at times right on the campuses. See: "Lifelong Learning."

The Purpose of Universities
   Perhaps it is this that we are really not quite clear about.  An assessment of the purpose of HIGHER education is found in a review of four books on the subject which was in the Globe and Mail back in 2021. A summary is presented in this post - "The University" - and it is followed by a very long bibliography of books related to "University Education." Specific sources related to the Brescia situation follow and at the very end of it you will find a remark from the CAUT which I think is worth considering.

Sources:

"Brescia University College Students Plan Protest Amid Western Merger Announcement," Kelly Wang, Global News, Sept. 24, 2023.

"Brescia Merger With Western University 'Devastating' for Faculty, Students'," Heather Rivers, London Free Press, Sept. 23, 2023.

"Brescia's Students and Faculty 'Blindsided' by Decision to Merge with Western University," Isha Bhargava, CBC News, Sept. 24, 2023

"Hundreds Gather to Protest Brescia's Merger With Western University," Isha Bhargava, CBC News, Sept. 27, 2023.

"CAUT Opposes Merger Between Brescia and Western,"The Gazette, Om Shanbhag, Oct. 3, 2023. This article includes a link to the letter sent from the CAUT to President & Vice-Chancellor Alan Shepard of Western and President Lauretta Frederking of Brescia University College. This paragraph from it makes sense to me:

"The serious concerns raised by this matter beg the question of whether the integration as it is currently being planned should even proceed. If there is a desire to merge Brescia into Western, it should be from the start discussed openly with the Senate and faculty associations so that the academic community can assess the merits and, if agreeing, decide upon how such a merger could be properly managed from an educational perspective. At the very least, it is essential that the faculty associations have effective representation on the integration committee as their members and their rights are directly affected."

Post Script:

   It has been observed that this is a "Mast Year" in many areas and that the trees are producing more acorns and walnuts than usual. I hope that is the case for the PAWPAW TREES which have been planted on campus and that they continue to flourish along with Brescia University College.