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Student unions across Canada are fed up with its dose of politics.

In a report by The Link, 16 Universities are mobilizing to leave the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). 

The federation brings together over 80 post-secondary school student unions to make high quality education accessible.

But former Dawson student union executive Nicholas Di Penna says it has too many flaws to continue working within the federation, citing issues dealing with finance and setting ground rules.

He adds that internal reforms were impossible to achieve because of political gain.

Di Penna hopes to have participating schools ready for the mass exodus between now and next year.

This isn't the first time schools attempted to leave the federation.

The Concordia Student Union joined forces with Graduate Student counterpart to file a lawsuit against the federation for not recognizing Concordia's appeal in 2008.

A court date set for hearing in 2015. 

An ethereal essence permeates out through Ultramarine, Young Galaxy’s most recent release. It’s as if the album is a ship while the music, created mostly by synthesizers, drum machines and the like, act as a sonic nebula, engulfing the listener in the interstellar aural space dust that are the tracks. There is a minimalism throughout the album that helps create and maintain this atmosphere. All the while McCardless’ warm vocals ground us in earthly sates of affairs and emotions ensuring that we don’t stray too far into the ether. This is the great juxtaposition that consistently plays itself out over the album and it works very well. 

While synth heavy albums can create beautiful walls of sound, they also have the capacity to be too busy and messy - sounds overlapping sounds as if at a party where conversations swallow conversations resulting in an ever-increasing wail in the room. However, Young Galaxy avoids this mess by creating breathing room between the pulsing sounds and allowing space for the lyrics and vocals to really shine through.

The album doesn’t take off so much as it begins in full flight with “Pretty Boy” which is engaged in a hypnotic jaunt through rolling synth sounds. “New Summer” takes us on more of an emotional ride as the track begins almost downtrodden, but the chorus uplifts with pulsing music and smooth vocals pushing us through to a more sublime place.

We then get dance heavy tracks like “Fever” and the 80s influenced “What We Want” that help shake things up. The album ends with the dreamy “Sleepwalk With Me”, a track that acts as a soft landing bringing us back down to earth.

From start to finish this is a stellar album. It’s a ticket to a wonderful experience and you need only close your eyes and take off as McCardless sings “So meet me by the river / Let’s go for a ride / With the windows down and the stereo loud.”

Nearly 300 employees from the University of Windsor are on strike as of yesterday (Sunday) morning.

According to CBC News, talks between university staff and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1393 ended an hour after the midnight strike deadline.

This is mainly due to the fact that both parties couldn’t agree on issues like job security and the pay-equity system.

CUPE Local 1393 President Dean Roy says it’s not about the money; it’s really about those two issues.

The university’s president, Alan Wildeman, is disappointed. He says employees walked away from greater job security, a wage increase and a commitment to preserve their jobs.

The local represents skilled professional, trade, technicians and graphic designers at the university.

The university says classes will not be impacted.

The workers have been without a contract since April.

STORY BY JENNA MONNEY-LUPERT

Syria’s chemical weapons attack allegations and peace negotiations were the main topics discussed at a U.N. meeting in Paris on Sunday.

BBC News reports, that U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, and the Arab League agree that Syria crossed an international global red line when they used chemical weapons in the ongoing civil war there.

There is a division in terms of a retaliatory strike on Syria among, Arab League nations. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are for it, while Syrian neighbours, Lebanon and Jordan oppose it because of fears of the conflict spreading across their borders.

Kerry claims that a strike against Syria would  send a clear message to Hezbollah and Iran that use of these weapons shouldn’t be taken lightly and there will be consequences.

The U.S. is accusing Syrian forces led by Bashar Al-Assad of killing 1400 people in a sarin gas attack on August 21^st.

Meanwhile, peace negotiations have progressed but at a dogged rate between Palestine and Israel. The disagreement over the construction of new settler home in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is to blame for the slow progress.