November 9th , 1984 THE OTHER PRESS page 7 EP PRU aio cledeeser Cereus The Education Day of Concern Rally, demonstration, forum, call it what you will, recently held at this college helped to re-enforce the image of an unsympathetic government in che eyes of students. John Parks, Coquitlam MLA, re- mained true to political form as he verbalized policy. Education is the government’s second priority under health care. If we are second on their list | would hate to see what’s further down. True education is not a divine right of existence. The government has no obligation to provide free post second- ary instruction but at least they can provide quality education. In a time when education is increas- ingly important to the securing of employment it seems rather regressive to cut back on education spending. Education is the best investment in the future that can be imagined. A free enterprise government, such as the one we have in Victoria, should be able to see this. If you cannot educate your people to fill the jobs that will be created, how can you keep private businesses in operation? Granted, the economy is not as it should be and the government, appar- ently, doesn’t have enough money to go around but they should be finding money. where most of it is, big business. We must attract new busi- ness investments to the province, so let’s create giant tax loopholes so they can come in, invest, go under and leave without paying a dime in tax. A penny maybe, but not a dime. | This insane logic does nothing to help this province in the long haul. Big business never has and, if the Socreds have their way, never will pay their fair share of the tax burden. This is unfortunate for if the people with the ability to pay do not, it falls to the people who are barely scraping through life to help those less fortu- nate than themselves. It has been this way for centuries and it will be that way for many more to come. John Parks stated that the cutbacks we are experiencing are only the beginning. Reductions in the quality and quantity of post-secondary educa- tion will continue for at least another five, count ‘em five, years. It is frightening to think of what education will look like when the Socreds are finished with it. Picture this, a cloistered group of monied, neo-facists, who know nothing higher than a computer programme and an accounting manual. Is this what we want education to become? A training ground for future young Socreds or even worse, Con- servatives? If it is then | pity you for a society that places no importance on education but only on ‘‘training’’ people to fill business positions is no society at all but just a mega-corpora- tion. : If you can’t make a buck you deserve to die. This is the image that a lot of students are faced with when looking at education. They are no longer looking at education. as a means to | broaden their mind, but only as a means to secure a ‘‘cushy’’ job. This is not what ‘‘higher’’ education should be abused for. It is a bastard- ization of the term ‘‘education’’. We should change the name of our universities to training institutions if we are to be true to the Socred tenent. We must now rise to save ‘‘higher’’ education and protect our institutions from this most horrendous subversion. For if we do not it is the ones who follow that will be denied, even more than we have been, a quality education in this province. | say we must protest loudly, for even if we lose it can be said that at ‘least we put up one hell of a fight. Dear Dr. Cannabis Dr. Cannabis will answer any quest- ions on lust, drugs, booze or anything under the full moon. Just drop them off at room 1602. Dear Dr. Cannabis | work part-time at a daycare centre and one of the children has me worried. Boomer (not his real name) is obsessed with war and killing. It first started when Boomer showed up one morning in a G.I. uniform ready for any sneak attacks. A year ago he was just a pudgy, fair-haired toddler who said Mr. Rogers was funny because he liked to play with zippers. Now Boomer’s ready to shoot anything that moves with his plastic gun and silencer (I think they’re plastic). He keeps a wooden knife in his belt and has two standard issue G.|. Joe grenades ready for action. Boomer’s mother told me he swap- ped his security blanket for a machine gun. Due to his influence, the other children have. joined up with “Boomer’s Commandos’’. The local department store has run out of kid’s armywear and equipment. The daycare centre is now ready for any armed attack from an aggressive nation. I’m not trained to be a military leader for pre-schoolers. How do | deal with this regiment of young mercenar- ies? Under Seige Dear Under Seige Hey! Your kids are just gettin’ in training for when they hit elementary. | mean, a grade oner’s pretty helpless if he or she can’t defend the ole lunchbox. What you gotta do is grab the car by the fenders and hang on. Show a little discipline by makin’ them do K.P. or full pack marches. As for Capt. Boomer, explain latrine duty and then have him demonstrate. And if anybody mutinies, just have the kid shot for treason. Whatever you do, don’t confiscate their weapons. One teacher in Mani- toba did, so the kids just built a bomb out of Lego bricks and held the school for ransom. The bomb was disarmed when the teacher agreed to their demands; the return of all weapons and double rations of milk and cookies. Dear Dr. Cannabis Even though my rent has been paid four months in advance, it’s the little bills that are killing me financially. At first | was over my head with the water bill. It was constantly soaking me. Then | was shocked by my electricity bill. The final straw was my telephone bill, which left me speechless. In Debt Dear In Debt Yours truly doesn’t worry about 1.0.U.’s. I’m one of those vagabonds that shack out inside the college. Everything’s free. The major head- ache is stayin’ away from the security guard so you don’t get caught crimson- fisted. Dear Dr. Cannabis | just inherited a small log cabin on Grouse mountain and plan to spend my winter holidays up there. Problem is, there’s no wood stove. I’ve been looking around for one, and a friend advised getting a ‘‘Capricorn’’ wood stove. Apparently her old stove took up two cords of wood, while the “‘Capricorn’’ used only half as much. Should | get one of these special stoves? Money-Conscious Dear Money-Conscious ; Why get only one? Get two ‘‘Capri- corn’’ wood stoves and save all your firewood. Tip for the day: You are master of the unspoken word, but the spoken word is master of you. OTHER CORNER WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT GHANDI’S ASSASSINATION? Brad Marko: It’s not very good for the country. It’s just going to continue. Kim Barwich: Pretty sick. What’s worst is the Sikhs celebrating in down- town Vancouver. But it was bound to happen eventually. Ray Gee: It was a result of all the tension built up between the mixed religions in India. Cary Zarazun: 1 don’t think it’s very good. It’s bad news. Anonymous: ; It’s a shame that ‘people have to kill people to get what they want. It’s not justified - killing to get what you want.