LAST ISSUE 83 THE OTHER PRESS ' ' “PAGE 3 “Oo PH ER... NE W S VANCOUVER [CUP)- The B.C. government’s contri- bution to Canada’s student aid program may be in- - sufficient to cover all stu- dents eligible for grants, financial aid officers predict. The government is ex- pected to decide whether or not to increase funding for student grants by the end of Raise The Limit [RNR/CUP]- Student politi- cal groups in the U.S. are making news again over a new issue: the right to drink. | Twenty states have raised their legal drinking age to 21, and. at least a dozen more are threatening to follow suit. In Georgia, students de- feated a proposal to raise the drinking age from 19 to 21 November, according to Dick Melville, information services director for the education ministry. ‘It’s under review.”’ Byron Hender, University. of B.C. financial aid direc- tor, said he is concerned about the possible lack of grant money for eligible students, and attributed the problem to the government decreasing its contribution to the aid program by 40 per cent -- from $24.2 million to $14.6 million. If the government does not approve the additional money needed, students will receive smaller grants, and those currently applying may receive even less, said by successfully arguing that drunk driving is a problem of the entire 20-34 age group. Restricting 18-21 year olds, they _ said, amounted to ‘‘selective pro- hibition’. College lobbyists say stu- dents will drink regardless of the legal limit, and they’re calling for more effective education and stricter enforcement: of drunk driving laws to protect the public. Hender. We might have to lop dol- lars off each students’ grant. Students would be short money. in a real sense,’’ he said. Financial aid officers have suspected a problem of in- adequate funding for the past two weeks, he said, adding he doubts the gov- ernment will increase its contribution. ““We have not had a whole lot of consultation.”’ Verne Lowen, Simon Fra- ser University financial aid director, said he too is un- certain if the government will increase funding for grants. But he added it is too ’ early to warn students about the potential loss of grant money. “We are as anxious about this as you. We want to Mune 78 make every effort to lessen the impact on students,’’ he said. Hender said the addition- al money required to cover all students eligible for grants may be as much as $1 million. But both Lowen and he estimated that the amount of money students could loose is ‘‘not very high’’. In the summer, the fed- eral government increased its loan portion from $56.25 to $100 a week, thus enabl- ing the provincial govern- ment to decrease its con- tribution. The Social Credit govern- ment also tightened eligi- bility criteria and introducec new academic standards fo students requiring assist. ance. McGill Profs in Grant Scandal MONTREAL [CUP]- A court injunction has been served on the McGill ‘University student newspaper to pre- _vent further reporting on the controversial private com- pany own by two micro- biology professors. The injunction, served Nov. 16, prevents the McGill Daily from printing any in- formation about an inven- tion the professors have de- veloped. But Daily reporters say the injunction may have been requested because the professors want to hide cer- tain business dealings. Drs. Irving DeVoe and Bruce Holbein stand to make millions of dollars with the invention, which can be used to clean up toxic in- dustrial waste, reduce cor- rosive elements in. water- cooled reactors, prevent spoilage in pharmaceutical products and recover pre- cious metals from mine trail- ings. The two professors have sought patents in 15 coun- tries, and have set up a network of companies inter- nationally. The Montreal Gazette had earlier revealed that DeVoe borrowed $40,000 from de- partment funds and his fed- eral research grant awarded for academic use, to finance the company’s research on campus. Holbein had used grant funds to hire DeVoe’s wife under her maiden name to work on the invention. And a former McGill re- search assistant, who was hired to work on the in- vention, has said his name is probably not on the patent application, even though he played a crucial role in the invention’s development. Dr. Chun Fai Yam was also served with an injunction and is himself launching legal action against the com- pany, DeVoe and Holbein. The Daily is investigating allegations that DeVoe and Holbein are deliberately let- ting one of their companies dissolve so shares due to McGill drop in value. The paper is also examining conflicts of interest sur- rounding the company’s presence on campus. Daily news editor Albert of getting an Neremberg said the injunc- tion may be an attempt to muzzle the paper. -‘‘They’ve already spent $5,000 (to obtain the injunc- tion),’’ said Neremberg. ‘‘It looks like DeVoe Holbein are willing to spend a lot of money to hinder us in what we're doing now, which is just research.”’ He said the Daily has no information on the invention itself, and has no desire to ruin the professors’ chances exclusive patent.