October 14th to 28th 1982

 

 

 

by Dee Thomas

At the end of October-17
days from now-the Women’s
Program at Douglas College
will no longer exist.

The program was effect-
ively eliminated by a round
of budget cuts put forward
by the Douglas College Ad-
ministration.

The Woman’s Program at
Douglas, which had been in
existance for 11 years (the
oldest in B.C.) had a broad
mandate. It was involved
with credit and non-credit
courses, the Women’s Cen-
tre, and operates as a form of
advocacy (barriers to wom-
en, various issues, curric-
ulum content) etc.

The cut came quickly and
without warning. Margar-
etha Hoek, Co-ordinator of
the Women’s Program, said
I walked into work one mor-
ning and got a notice’. Hoek
says the rationale for the cuts
has: been very confusing.
I don’t know what they were
afraid of by not talking to
me-what was the secret? It’s
almost if they didn’t want to
give it a chance’.

Hoek’s termination is be-
ing grieved. Jim Davies,
Vice President of Douglas
Faculty Association, says the
matter violates the collective
agreement between the Ass-
ociation and the College, as
no prior consultation’ took
place.

Hoek says ‘‘the Program
was visible more in the
community’’. The aim has
been to ‘‘create a bridge
between the community and
the college’.

The funding cut is related
in part, to the Womens
Programs association with
Continuing Education. The
Program recieves operating
monies fromi this area, which
has been hit hard this year.

Jim Doerr, Continuing Ed-
ucation Dean, has said that
his department ‘‘has been
really devestated’’. Because
Continuing Education gets a
smaller piece of the pie to
begin with, the large cuts by
the Ministry have a far
greater impact.

Doerr anticipates an initial
65 per cent reduction, with a
27 per cent for 1982/83 and a
further 38 per cent reduction
in 1983/84. These cuts apply
to Douglas, but a similar
pattern is being implimented
throughout B.C.

It is important to note
however, that the decision to

=

 

eliminate Women’s Prog-
rams was entirely made by
the Douglas College Admin-
istration, not Victoria’s Mini-
stry of Education. Hoek says
that Victoria came out with a
policy two years ago to
support the Program. ‘‘Con-
tinuing Education was very
supportive and if consulted
would have been very shock-
ed’’. Continuing Education
“‘has been singled out across
B.C.; it’s really gross, but |
don’t see it as an excuse to
get rid of Women’s Pro-
grams’’. Gordan Gilgan,
Dean of Academic Studies,
says Women’s Programs
were axed for a number of
reasons.‘‘It was chronically
underenrolled (which was
becoming) more and more of
a problem’’. In addition, the

are".

‘Special things’ implies
small. According to Hoek
and Marion Exmann (co-
ordinator of the Women’s
Centre), the majority of stu-
dents at Douglas are women
and Exmann foresees ‘‘a rise
‘a mature students, mainly
women’’. Hoek says ‘‘the
mature population is about
two thirds female and Doug-
las College isn’t recruiting to
this group’’. Diane Edmun-
son, a Community Program-
mer at the New West
YMCA, says ‘“‘there is an
obvious need in the commun-

ity’’.
Hoek contends that ‘‘wom-
en’s issues are so flexible

they can move wherever the
need is. Women’s Programs

Douglas Kills Women’s Program

Impact Felt Locally and Provincially

programs are going to die
over the next few years.
They’re trying to get rid of
Continuing Education’’.
“It is percieved in a lot of
quarters that Douglas Coll-
ege doesn’t feel the same
commitment to women as it
has in the last ten years. It is
supposed to be a Community
College not a damned Ivory
Tower on a hill. Why is it
always women and children
first?’’*‘To call Women’s Pr-
ograms redundant in these
days of unemployment, wife
battering, etc. is appalling.”’
Hoek agrees. ‘“We’ve got
a responsibility to look out
for women, particularly with
the way the economy is: it
seems a step backwards to
me”.
‘‘Faculty Association Presid-
ent, Ralph Stanton says the
cuts ‘‘are a specific example

 

 

WONEN's Peo GRATIME

    

WHAT WOMENS
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- business. ‘‘Not much is hap-

 

 

Program ‘‘didn’t have regul-
ar faculty teaching’’ and he
views that as a_ serious
problem because they aren’t
doing anything else for the
College .‘‘The Program fail-
ed because we created a
ghetto for women’’. The
Program “‘preached to the
converted instead of those
who needed it. Male chauy-
inists weren’t getting educa-
ted’’. He also added that
““we were trying to inte- -

grate women’s issues (with
other academic programs)
and hoped to be underway
this fall’’. With Hoek gone
“‘we no longer have leader-
ship and are not prepared to
ask anyone else to take on
an extra burden’’. He said
“‘women’s studies were not
singled out-all special things

are mot in a special or
separate area. It has always
been my aim not to create a
ghetto: It doesn’t do any
good’’. :

Hoek states that ‘I am
very paticular by trying to
appeal to PEOPLE, and not
by using the word feminist’.
“‘My goal is to meet common
needs not my percieved
needs’’.

Edmundson, who has had
a working relationship with
the Women’s Program at
Douglas, says the ‘‘biggest
thing is that as a community
we are slighted by the fact
that there was no consul-
tation with anyone-it happ-
ened-BANG!

‘The cuts leave a terrible
gap in the community and I
have a feeling community

of an attack on women’s
desires to establish themsel-
ves in society. Do you know
that there are no women in
the upper levels of senior
administration at Douglas?-
this is where all this is
coming from’’. Hoek said
she was the only full-time
regular faculty member to
recieve lay-off notice.

The Women’s Program at
Douglas has in many ways
been a Provincial model.

Hoek has been involved
throughout B.C. (including
the Yukon).‘‘Itrained wom-
en’s programmers and gain-
ed a lot of exposure and
credibility. People looked up
to Douglas’’. She dealt with
a full range of feminist and
non-feminist issues which
were considered innovative

and critical.

“‘There has been a lot of
bad press about the cut of
the women’s programs from
Ft.St.John, to Whitehorse,
to Kamloops. They can’t
understand why they are
doing this and how’’.

Doerr agrees that ‘‘this
college has a splendid record
of development in education-
al innovation’’. Now that
capacity is greatly reduced.

There are no credit cour-
ses this fall under the Pro-
gram but a full non-credit
schedule is under way in the
community. Hoek doesn’t
expect a Spring Program.
‘“‘The Women’s Program is
now in limbo. I don’t know
what will happen...I’m typi-
ng up loose ends, closing my
files’’.

The Women’s Centre rem-
ains however.

It’s run by Marian Ex-
mann; at present it’s in a
cramped corner of the coun-
celling office. She is hamp-
ered by a lack of space and
no real office to conduct her

pining right now; it’s diffi-
cult for everyone under these
circumstances’’.

Exmann feels ‘‘extremely
excited about the possibilit- "|
ies of the centre. There’s a
lot I can do, and I don’t feel
that I am fulfilling my role
completely’’.

The move to the new
building will solve the space
problem and Exmann hopes
the Centre will blossom.

Exmann’s role though, is,
in reality, limited. She does-
n’t have the mandate, funds,
or staff to fill the large gap.
left by the elimination of the
Women’s Program. Nor is
she expected to. Hoek says
“‘her task is for women on
campus, a referral service’.

Service to women at Doug-
las, the community at large,
and indeed in B.C. has been
dramatically affected by the
cut. It has been reduced to a
very small representation
that totally undermines the
needs of the population. The
results of the grievence proc-
ess and the Ministerial hand-
ling of Continuing Education
funds will have profound
significance for women in
this province.

News Flash

The Other Press has just
learned that the College laid
off Ms. Hoek without follow-
ing proper procedure. We
understand that the College
will try to ‘re-terminate’ her

position shortly. ig