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September 23, 2011

New Brunswick Health Council invites student input on the qualty of healthcare in the province

I'd like to share with you an important event happening on campus on Thursday September 29th brought to my attention by Christine Paré, Director of Communications for New Brunswick Health Council.

 The following is an important opportunity for youth to provide feedback on the quality of health services in the province. All Mount Allison students are invited to participate. More details are available to those who register at http://nbhc.ca and are chosen to participate. Here is more information:
The New Brunswick Health Council (NBHC) is an independent organization created in 2008 that is mandated to measure, monitor and evaluate population health and health service quality in the province of New Brunswick while informing the public on the health system’s performance.  It is also mandated to implement mechanisms to engage the citizens of New Brunswick for the purpose of improving health service quality in the Province.
In the spring of 2010, the NBHC hosted Our Health. Our Perspectives. Our Solutions. The process highlighted what people value most with regard to the provincial health system, how the system can be strengthened and what can be done to improve provincial health outcomes. Although a wealth of information was provided by participants, it was clear the process was not appealing to younger people. As a result, the youth voice was not included in the overall findings.

Because of this, we are visiting eight university campuses around the province to gather the perspectives of students when it comes to health. Our goal was to invite 40 students to join us for a free dinner and for a conversation on the topic of health. This event will be held on campus next Thursday, the 29th. The first 40 participants to register online at www.nbhc.ca will have a guaranteed spot in at this session.

Reminder- Susan Greenfield to speak about 'Mind Change' at Mount Allison University on Monday, September 26th 2011


A reminder about Susan Greenfield's talk on Monday night courtesy of Laura Dillman. I'm going to do my best to attend and so should you.

Baroness Susan Greenfield to deliver Jonah Lecture — Monday, Sept. 26, 7 p.m. Convocation Hall

Acclaimed University of Oxford pharmacology professor, neuroscientist, writer, and broadcaster Baroness Dr. Susan Greenfield will launch Mount Allison University’s Year of Science and Discovery as the first speaker in the President’s Speakers Series and the 2011-12 Wilford B. Jonah lecturer. Her talk entitled, Mind Change: The New Climate Change? will take place on Monday, September, 26, at 7 p.m. in Convocation Hall. Everyone is welcome and there is no admission charge.

Greenfield’s Mount Allison talk will address the evolution of the human brain to adapt to our changing technological circumstances, especially screen technology. During her lecture she will speak to the question, “If the 21st century environment is changing in unprecedented ways, will the minds of upcoming generations also be changing in ways that are unprecedented?”

This lecture will be relevant for the sciences and the humanities alike, as it will address key issues in our evolving world of information technology and human cognition.


For more information please visit www.mta.ca/ysd

September 19, 2011

Geoff Campbell: Student, Communications Assistant, Newspaper Web Editor, and Non-Profit Public Relations Coordinator at Mount Allison University

This year I'm going to be fairly busy. In terms of classes:
  • My Cultural and Political Change class with Dr. Hunt (who just got back from sabbatical at the London School of Economics) is really interesting. So far we've discussed John Dewey and experiential learning and Timothy Ferris' argument that the democratic revolution was made possible by the scientific revolution. This week we're going to talk about Fareed Zakaria's (of CNN fame) The Post-American World and a section from a book on re-engineering national identity. It's a really engaging class that he says will adapt to our interests. In that course I hope to work on a project on the effects social networking can have on developing brains. It's the kind of class I imagined when I thought of liberal arts in that it's centered loosely on readings but is mostly discussion of ethical and other issues.
  • My fourth year seminar on Africa in a Global Context is based almost entirely on a group project (70%) and seminar participation based on readings (25%).
  • Second-year French will entail a lot of rote memorization of grammar.
  • In my 3rd year International Relations course Global Governance I'm in a group project on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People on Friday which should go very well.
  • In Marketing, I'm working on a group project hopefully on the multitude of ways the internet has changed how marketers connect with consumers which should be an engaging project if it's approved.

Last week I applied for graduation online and submitted the Honours IR Degree Audit form signed by the program advisor. It's odd that this is finally my year to pay attention to all those prospective grad e-mails.

Doing well in all of my classes is unquestionably my highest priority this term. However, in addition to coursework, I'm involved with
  • The Communications Office (As Communications Assistant I'll be continuing and expanding on what I've been doing over the summer. Commitment: 10 hours/week.)
  • The Argosy (As Online Editor, I'll be giving input on the content of the inside front page of the print issue, formatting and uploading all the articles to the website, embedding article photos from Flickr (which I taught the photo editors to use), encouraging readers to submit photo and video content to the site, and helping to live-stream the Atlantic Regional Canadian University Press conference at Mount Allison the 2nd week of October. Commitment: Staring this week, no more than 5 hours/week and the weekend of October 14-16th (in addition to the many hours spent over the summer helping to transform the Argosy website to what it is today).)
  • Amnesty International Mount Allison (As outgoing President and part-time Public Relations Coordinator, I'm training the new Amnesty International president and am going to help begin the club's activities at the first meeting. I hope to attend a majority of the meetings but the main contribution I'm making to the group is to organize a speaker's visit to campus. I've been in discussions with the group's executive and funding partners and it seems like this event is gaining some traction and may very well become a reality. I'll provide details once this idea is off the ground and has been approved for funding. Commitment 1-2 hours a week beyond training the new President and planning/executing the speaker visit)
  • ATLIS (As Online Editor, I'll be doing the online promotion of the group's conference in January and its journal publication in the Spring. I'll also help with the technical set-up (microphones and presentations) as well as recording the presentations and keynote speaker at the January conference. Commitment 1 hour/week in addition to the weekend of January 13-15, 2012.)
  • A yet-to-be-launched social media initiative customized to the needs of Mount Allison students. It's still under consideration by the Powers That Be but even without their blessing I believe the initiative will begin sometime this academic year.
  • Applying to graduate school. (I'm currently focused getting together materials to apply to four of the top PR/Communications/Marketing Programs in the United States and need to request a couple more recommendations and receive a number of others I've requested. I've already taken the GRE (750-800 Verbal 610-710 Math) and don't think writing personal statements will be any challenge. The biggest selling point for Mount Allison is personal interaction with professors and consequently I believe the strongest part of my application will be my letters of reference. As of today one of my top choices is Emerson's GMCA program.
Clearly from all of the above I'll be incredibly busy. More than a couple people have asked me how exactly I plan to do all of that and stay sane. My response is that it would be impossible to do without the solid foundation the last three years has given me. Oh yeah, and some amazing professors, bosses, club leaders, and friends. Also, if you are undertaking anything like I am this semester, you'll probably need Gmail, Google Calendar, Dropbox, Evernote, and a lot of coffee.

With all of the above in mind, I've still been able to answer messages fairly regularly. However, keep in mind anything not related to the above activities ranks at most 12th on my list of priorities this semester. If you can live with waiting, the best way to contact me is the e-mail listed on this page.

Problem Gambling Prevention Program Comes to N.B.

I was recently contacted by Susan Saundercook, Communications Specialist at the Responsible Gambling Council about a visit to campus today and tomorrow by kts2. The program is about targeting students to educate then about the dangers of problem gambling. If you're interested in learning more and you missed their Student Centre visit today, they will have a booth set up in Jennings tonight from 5-7pm for on-campus students and tomorrow from 10am-2pm for off-campus students. If you or someone you know is a problem gambler you should consider making a point of visiting their booth.

September 15, 2011 (Sackville, N.B.) – Back on campus for two weeks, New Brunswick’s 40,000-plus post-secondary students are hitting the books and getting a taste of college and university life. Next week though, there will be a different subject in the cards for students—problem gambling prevention.

Research shows that early experiences with gambling play a role in the development of gambling problems later on, with the majority of problem gamblers in New Brunswick (NB problem gambling prevalence rate is an estimated 1.3% of the adult population) reporting that they first gambled for money before the age of 19. That’s why kts2 (formerly Know the Score) an innovative peer-to-peer program created by the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) and sponsored by Atlantic Lottery, is reaching out to students on campus and online through social media and its interactive website, kts2.ca.

kts2 looks at the real chances of winning and losing, highlights signs of problem gambling, shares local problem gambling services and suggests ways to keep gambling safer.

WHAT: Media are invited to visit the kts2 display at Mount Allison University to:
• talk to a kts2 representative about issues related to problem gambling and young adults
• speak to local students
• get facts about behaviours that can signal a problem
• find out how RGC connects with students via Facebook, Bluetooth technology and travel diary blog

Display Times:

WHEN: Monday, September 19, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Jennings Dining Hall


Atlantic Lottery promotes responsible gambling education, awareness and prevention as part of its overall commitment to social responsibility. Atlantic Lottery is committed to remaining a world leader in responsible gambling and believes that taking a more active role in promoting the responsible use of their products is the right thing to do - not only for their players, but also for the communities they serve.

The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) is an independent, non-profit organization committed to problem gambling prevention. RGC designs and delivers highly effective awareness programs like kts2.

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For information, please contact:
Susan Saundercook, Communications Specialist, Responsible Gambling Council
(t) 416.499.9800 ext. 230 (e) susans@rgco.org

Lindsay Shannon, Communications Counsel, Atlantic Lottery
(t) 506.867.5800 ext. 5281 (e) lindsay.shannon@alc.ca