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Issues & Experts Archive > Terrorism, spirituality, education, development – issues and experts
Terrorism, spirituality, education, development – issues and experts
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Nov 20, 2003
Concerns over terrorism raised…A report obtained by Canadian Press indicates Canadian police and security officials have been warned of the possibility that al-Qaeda terrorists might try to contaminate food or water with deadly toxins. SFU political science professor Douglas Ross is an expert on security issues and can look at the implications of the report and its warnings, along with the government’s response to date.
The state of spirituality...A new national poll on religion and spirituality conducted for Vision TV/Time Magazine shows Canada is still a nation of believers, although the country is no longer a nation of churchgoers. Attendance at religious institutions—the old-fashioned kind, with altars and steeples—is in decline, At SFU, students are increasingly seeking ways to fill their spiritual needs while on campus. Many will join one of a rising number of religious clubs. But nearly 500 students — double the numbers of a few years ago — will flock to the interfaith centre, located in the Maggie Benston Centre, to participate in one of a number of weekly religious services, prayer meetings or bible study sessions. Centre director Seth Greenham can look at how and why spirituality on campus is changing.
- Douglas Ross, 604.291.4782; douglasr@sfu.ca
The state of spirituality...A new national poll on religion and spirituality conducted for Vision TV/Time Magazine shows Canada is still a nation of believers, although the country is no longer a nation of churchgoers. Attendance at religious institutions—the old-fashioned kind, with altars and steeples—is in decline, At SFU, students are increasingly seeking ways to fill their spiritual needs while on campus. Many will join one of a rising number of religious clubs. But nearly 500 students — double the numbers of a few years ago — will flock to the interfaith centre, located in the Maggie Benston Centre, to participate in one of a number of weekly religious services, prayer meetings or bible study sessions. Centre director Seth Greenham can look at how and why spirituality on campus is changing.
- Seth Greenham, 604.291.3180; greenham@sfu.ca
Gambling with the government…Later this week, members of the BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) will vote on whether to withhold their annual membership fees. The move would be to protest the provincial government’s restructuring of the BCTF’s board make up. The majority of board members are now appointed by the government, rather than teachers elected by BCTF members. SFU education professor Peter Grimmett has been following closely the heated debate that has led up to this vote. He can comment on why the BCTF is upset, why the government has restructured the board and why teachers are "foolhardily gambling that the province won’t use its power to revoke teachers’ licenses."
- Peter Grimmett, 604.291.4937, peter_grimmett@sfu.ca
Building green…With the growing scarcity of virgin land to build on in the Lower Mainland, municipal councils and developers are increasingly balancing the costs and benefits of redeveloping industrial or brown land. The first of a workshop series on the Economics of Green Building and a free public lecture called Tunnelling through the Cost Barrier: the Business Case for turning Brownfields into Green Buildings run next week. SFU continuing studies’ The City Program is co-hosting both events at SFU Harbour Centre campus. The events will focus on the feasibility of turning brown fields into green buildings.
- Frank Pacella, coordinator, The City Program, 604.291.5079, fpacella@sfu.ca
Balancing individual and global human rights…As terrorism and protest movements sweeping nations have demonstrated, our increasingly tight knit global village often pits individual against global human rights. Western views of individuality often cause North Americans to chose individual over global human rights. On-cho Ng is an associate professor and associate head of the history department and religious studies program at Penn State University. An expert on Confusion philosophy, Ng will talk about the contemporary relevance of Confucian values in the age of globalization on Friday, November 21, 2-3:30 p.m. at Harbour Centre. SFU’s David See-Chai Lam Centre for International Communication is hosting the event.
- Edith Lo, 604.291.5089, lo@sfu.ca