Briefs

Lone Bedbug in Library, Resuscitation of L’Organe

NewsMichelle Pucci & Jonathan Caragay-Cook — Published January 13, 2015 | Updated January 13, 2015 at 7:15am

Bug Rumours Officially Put to Bed

After stating that there was “no evidence” of a bed bug infestation in the Webster Library last month, Concordia University president Alan Shepard made a startling revelation last week.

“I’m informed we found exactly one bed bug,” he told The Link.

The lone soldier was captured after “preventative” measures were taken over the holiday break. A crew inspected and steam cleaned the entire library floor by floor, according to Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota.

Any public city space visited by millions of people probably harbours a single bed bug, Shepard stressed. “There’s probably one bed bug everywhere,” he said.

“It’s not bad money to do the cleaning to make sure.”

Hoopla over the original rumour of a bed bug infestation started on the popular forum website Reddit, and the story gained further traction on local blogs, including MTL Blog and the satirical Sooo MTL.

“We didn’t find much, but it does tell you about the power of social media,” Shepard said about the rumour’s origin. “It’s a bit of a scary power to spread things around.”

L’Organe Fee Levy Suspended

Concordia’s only francophone publication, L’Organe, will have its fee levy suspended until 2017, while it makes use of the money collected since its last publication in 2011 to revive the magazine.

L’Organe normally collects $0.06 per credit and has collected $161,000 over the years. Before an agreement was reached at the last Board of Governors’ meeting, the funds were frozen.

“$161,000 is more than enough money for them to function for two years, so it would be excessive to give them money until then,” said CSU President Benjamin Prunty at the last council meeting in December.

The publication will be reactivated this month and has promised to publish once a semester in order to retain access to its funding.

Since L’Organe’s last issue in April 2011, some students have tried but been unsuccessful in bringing back the francophone magazine, mainly due to legal and financial issues. Last year, Concordia’s Board of Governors voted to suspend its fee levy for three semesters.