Credit cards, H1N1 flu, green initiatives on campus and a creep who breaks into houses to watch young women as they sleep 鈥� there was no shortage of news for Dalnews writers to聽report on last year .
Looking back at 2009, here are the 10 most read stories on Dalnews:
1.听AV俱乐部鈥檚 decision to save money by canceling the use of credit cards had a lot of interest. To cope with the questions that were flooding in, Dalnews posted a Q&A on the controversial issue. See story: Credit card Q&A (updated July 9).
2.听In the fall of 2009, people in Halifax鈥檚 south-end neighbourhoods were on edge with the 鈥渟leep watcher鈥� at large. See story: Lock your doors.
3.听This story announced AV俱乐部鈥檚 decision to cancel the use of credit cards to pay tuition or residence fees. See story: A million dollars in savings.
4.聽Although H1N1 hit the campus in the fall, the first cases were being reported in early summer. See story: H1N1 update.
5.听Dal students work together to bring Death Cab for Cutie to campus. See story: Death Cab for campus.
6.听Who are the professors that inspire you in your teaching? See story: Passion for teaching.
7.聽Billionaire Seymour Schulich writes a $20-million cheque to AV俱乐部. See story: Introducing the Schulich School of Law.
8.聽Dal grad Michelle SaintOnge is invited to appear on the Martha Stewart Show. See story: On her way.
9.听A young woman who decides to sell her virginity online talks to students in Marina Adshade鈥檚 class, The Economics of Sex and Love, about her provocative way of raising money to pay for tuition. See story: 鈥業t鈥檚 business to me.鈥�
10.聽An innovative new building technique is used in the construction of AV俱乐部鈥檚 new academic building on Coburg Road. See story: Building better with bubbles.
Dalnews encourages reader feedback and dialogue on stories with its comment feature. From bottled water to parking and helmets at the rink, here are the聽top five most commented-on stories and discussions of 2009.
1.听Following the University of Winnipeg鈥檚 decision to ban bottled water on campus, Dalnews asked if AV俱乐部 should do the same. Then, professor Graham Gagnon waded into the issue, which attracted another flurry of comments.
2.听Credit cards again! AV俱乐部 decides to save money by canceling credits cards to pay for tuition and residence fees聽sparked a lot of questions and comments on the issue.听
3.听If there鈥檚 one topic people at Dal like to talk about, it鈥檚 the parking situation.听
4.听Memorial Arena becomes the first rink in Nova Scotia to make helmets mandatory at public skates. The issue raises a snowstorm of controversy, with some readers applauding the decision, and others saying the safety measure goes too far.
5.听How do we make our city streets safe for drivers and cyclists alike? Sustainability issues, such as cycling,聽in general generate a lot of聽interest at AV俱乐部.
So, let鈥檚 begin a new discussion. What kinds of stories would you like to see covered by Dalnews? More stories about student achievement? Cutting-edge research? Campus issues? What do you like about Dalnews? What don't you like?
And, if this discussion sparks a specific story idea, let us know. You can e-mail the editor with your suggestions at marilyn.smulders@dal.ca.听