By Amit Shilton
During my four years at this university, Ryerson made the mistake of trusting me. When it came to assignments, essays and deadlines, I was a master of weaseling my way into one extension after another. In a way, I cheated the system and got away with it. We all do it. In the past, I think the balance of trust between students and their profs relied heavily on the students. It’s the student who is accused of cheating, after all. But ever since the Chris Avenir cheating scandal, that balance of trust has been reversed. Treating students like petty criminals doesn’t instill much mutual trust. This week marks the launch of our new series — “Can you trust Ryerson?” In the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a look at different trust issues like theft, privacy and safety on campus. Check out the results of a student survey we put together on page 5. And make sure to look for the weekly installments in coming issues. *** On the topic of questionable trustworthiness, the RSU elections are kicking into full gear. This election reminds me of a few years back, even though there are four candidates running for president this year. In 2007 when Nora Loreto won the presidency, she ran unopposed. And despite the fact that more students turned out than ever to vote against her, it was a relative cakewalk to victory. This year feels very similar. Candidates have been disqualified left and right for trivial technicalities. Even the posters that we’ve seen have been predominantly the ones from the Canadian Federation of Students machine. So while the reigning slate may be celebrating what looks like an easy win, a victory is only as good as the competition.
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