What students are talking about today (December 6th edition)

1. Master’s student Lauren Adkins is planning to marry a life-sized cardboard cutout of Robert Pattinson, the actor who played Edward Cullen in the Twilight films. It’s for her thesis project on “fan culture, women in modern society and idealized notions of romantic love.” The University of Las Vegas student’s wedding will include a real bachelorette party, ceremony and wedding dress. I guess graduate school can be fun after all.

2. After a student threatened to sue, the Kwantlen Student Association’s board of directors voted to grant club status (and the money that comes with it) to pro-life group Protectores Vitae. They also voted to suspend their regulations against clubs that support political parties, religious organizations or causes. The KSA executive had originally rejected the pro-life club’s application, citing its policy affirming a women’s right to choose. Read more in The Runner.

3. Planned Parenthood’s branch in St. John’s, Nfld. tells CBC News that it’s out of condoms. This comes just as sexually transmitted infections are on the rise in St. John’s. Five years ago there were 510 cases of chlamydia. Last year it was 689. Meanwhile the head physician at Memorial University’s student health services just diagnosed his first case of syphilis after seven years on the job.

4. Something un-parliamentary may have occurred in the House of Commons on Wednesday involving Conservative Peter Van Loan and New Democrats Nathan Cullen and Tom Mulcair. There may have been a finger involved. Here’s Aaron Wherry on what went down and reaction from Twitter.

5. As difficult as it is to believe—what with all the doom and gloom about jobs—Canada’s information technology industry will be short more than 100,000 workers by 2016, reports the Ottawa Citizen.

6. Student journalists at the University of Alberta’s Gateway declare “there’s not a single life lesson that can’t be taught through a TV commercial.” They compiled a list of their favourite public service announcements, including the house hippo, “don’t you put it in your mouth,” and a robot that gets his arm cut off.

7. Someone in Saskatoon redecorated a city bus shelter with a twin bed, night table, lamp and door. They also placed a For Rent ad on Kijiji: “It’s easy access for transit, close to Broadway and the university…” A Saskatoon transit official told CBC News that they’re looking for the bed’s owner.

8. The London Rocket, a discount bus company that was planning to ferry students from London, Ont. to the Toronto area, has ceased operations following a complaint by Greyhound. “We’re 19-year-old students. We don’t have money for lawyers and we don’t have the resources to defend ourselves,” reads the Rocket’s website. Tickets are being refunded. More in Western’s Gazette.

9. University of Alberta graduate student Wei Xie is among those credited with discovering a “relatively new” asteroid crater in Bow City, Alta. Read about her research on Macleans.ca.

10. Today, Canadians are marking 23 years since the Montreal Massacre. On Dec. 6, 1989, Marc Lépine walked into Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal armed with a rifle and murdered 14 women, wounded 13 others and then killed himself. His apparent motive was hatred for feminists. “While a lot has changed since 1986, a lot still needs to be done,” writes Taouba Khelifa in the University of Regina’s Carillon. “Violence against women is still present and needs to end.”