Photos of the Dinos swim meet on Fri., Nov. 7.

Rising American casualties in occupied Iraq dominate the daily news. Extensive coverage of American combat deaths monopolize headlines, causing a PR nightmare for the White House and providing political capital for the American opposition.

Missing from the picture is the fate of the common Iraqi. Little is said of the thousands of Iraqis killed and maimed during the American invasion or of those suffering daily under the heavy hand of a foreign army and Iraq's spiralling lawlessness.

The University of Calgary has recommended a near-maximum increase for tuition, however some money will be used for student-directed quality initiatives.

If approved at the Fri., Dec. 5 Board of Governors meeting, tuition will rise 4.8 per cent for both graduate and undergraduate students. For undergrads, this means an increase of $21 per half-course.

Students' Union President Jayna Gilchrist disagrees with the proposed increase and believes it is too much money for students to pay for education.

With less than one month until the University of Calgary Board of Governors is expected to raise tuition, a visible shift can be seen in how the Students' Union is putting up a fight.

Generation upon generation of University of Calgary graduates have lamented apathy at our fair institution. They have offered a myriad of reasons, from ours being a commuter campus to affluence among students.

Personally, I'm beginning to think it has a lot more to do with a lack of communication, organization and direction amongst our student leaders.

At least this year it does.

The University of Calgary's Model United Nations team sent 13 delegates to Washington, D.C. Fri., Oct. 31 for the National Collegiate Security Conference hosted by Georgetown University. The team did not match last year's standing as Best Small School Delegate.

"It's a rebuilding year for us," explained veteran Model UN member Scott Piet, a fifth-year Political Science and History major.

A recent study suggests the number of youth voters between the ages of 18-24 is steadily decreasing.

In the last federal election in 2000, only 64 per cent of registered voters headed to the polls, and of them only 25 per cent were youth electorates. To address this issue, Elections Canada held a National Forum on Youth Voting in Calgary, Oct. 30-31.

As a federal election draws closer, more practitioners of the art of politics become increasingly interested in the activity known as campaigning.

Green Party leader Jim Harris came to campus Fri., Oct. 31 to talk to student supporters about the party and the upcoming election.

"[It was] an absolutely fantastic event, with a great turnout," Harris said about his rendezvous, noting with pleasure "people are very concerned."

The party supports a left-wing platform based on four key points.

The Political Science Association held its second Poli-Slosh of the year, Mon., Nov. 3.

The Poli-Sloshes are an occasion for political science students as well as others interested in political science to come together and converse about issues relevant to the discipline. The event combines a forum for academic discussion about a political science related topic with free food and beverages. A number of political science faculty members speak on a given topic, followed by a question period.