News Briefs: UVSS, Camosun College Golf Team, Wine auction cancelled, al-Qaeda terrorist, Virgin sells virginity for $780,000

Magazine Issue News October 31, 2012

UVSS supports plan for students

The University of Victoria Students’ Society has come out in support of a new plan put forth by the Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia. It was delivered to the Government’s Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services on October 18. The three-point plan argues that there needs to be more spaces for students, improved access to postsecondary education through initiatives such as an up-front needs-based grants program, and guaranteed funding that would match federal dollars for research initiatives at BC postsecondary institutions.

Golfers grab silver

The Camosun College golf team did it again. If you’re wondering what “it” is, fear not, as you’re about to have your socks blown off by way of mad pride. The Chargers have successfully acquired the silver medal in this year’s Canadian Colleges Athletic Association golf season. The final tournament was held in Oshawa, Ontario, home of the fierce Durham Lords. After a rough start to the tournament, finishing the first day in seventh place, Camosun charged forward and were able to finish only behind the Humber College Hawks, who are now the reigning champions four times over. The whole Camosun team came together for this success, however one cannot ignore Jarred Callbeck’s inspirational showing on day two, shooting the second lowest score of the day (for all you for all you pointy-headed intellectuals, low is good), that indubitably helped the Chargers sequester the silver.

Crush organizers crushed

The Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB) recently announced a ruling that prohibits the auction of any bottles of wine that have not been directly purchased through the LCLB. This ruling is having negative consequences on many charities that auction off bottles of wine. One such charity is the Belfry Theatre’s fine wine auction, Crush. They’ve had to cancel the event, which received donations of fine wines from private donors, and has had no problems operating for the past two years. “Our many volunteers, sponsors and donors have been working for months to realize this event,” said Sherri Bird, chair of the fundraising committee for the Belfry, in a press release. “The LCLB approved our past two events without incident.”

Justice served?

About a decade back, Algerian Ahmed Ressam was caught with a trunk full of explosives when coming off of a ferry from Victoria; his plan was to bomb the Los Angeles airport. He has recently been sentenced to spend 37 years in prison. Ressam, who had trained with internationally recognized terrorist organization al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, was caught in 1991 in Coho, Washington. Since this was a pre-9/11 occurrence, Ressam will not face as harsh a sentence as someone would if they were to do the same thing today. If he were caught today, he would be charged with carrying a weapon of mass destruction, which can lead to a life in prison.

Modern economic strategies

Hey, virgins, here’s the inside scoop on how you can make some quick cash. By simply selling your virginity online, you could make hundreds of thousands of dollars! This is exactly what 20-year-old Brazilian physical education student Catarina Migliorini has done. By auctioning off her virginity to a Japanese man, she has made $780,000, which she reportedly intends to give a small portion of to help her hometown of Santa Catarina. When accused of prostitution, she said that “if you only do it once in your life then you are not a prostitute, just like if you take one amazing photograph it does not automatically make you a photographer,” The Daily Mail reported. And men, this is equal-opportunity weirdness: a male virgin did the same thing and made a comparably small but still rather whopping $3,000.