ee aT ere Foor tr ee og gr B.C. committee calls for interest rate drop on student loans Report also pushes U-Passes and specialized inflation rates By Andrew Bates, CUP Western Bureau Chief KELOWNA, B.C. (CUP)— University may soon be easier to access in British Columbia. A report released this month by the B.C. legislature’s select standing committee on finance are examining recommendations on the post- secondary education system, including to reduce the interest rate charged on provincial student loans. The report also recommends an extension of the period where there is neither payment nor interest on those loans, and changes to some of the regulations that govern financial frameworks for universities in the province. The 2010 budget consultations report was the result of close to 3,500 submissions from British Columbians, including presentations to committees, written submissions, and Internet survey forms. The recommendations will now go to the province’s finance minister, who will decide whether or not to implement them into the provincial budget. “I think we’ve made a number of recommendations that have some substance to them,” said John Les, the Chilliwack-Sumas MLA who chaired the committee. “Everybody on the committee was obviously aware of the current fiscal circumstances and I think it’s safe to say that the recommendations we did make were made “| shudder sometimes when someone says, ‘I’m post-secondary education.” Les also sounded a cautious note when it comes to those debts. “I shudder sometimes when someone says, ‘I’m halfway to getting my Bachelor of Arts degree and I’m $60,000 in debt or some such story like that. That to me is an indication of not having managed one’s university career very well.” Mungall, however, did not perceive the situation the same way. “The student debt load in B.C. is one of the worst in Canada. Anything we can do to alleviate that pressure is not just good for students but good for the overall economy,” she said. “It gets them spending on normal daily-life things like buying houses, buying cars. Those are important economic drivers, and if we can relieve the pressure that students have on their loans, then of course that means they’re going to be able to plug those dollars in when they graduate into the broader economy.” According to Mungall, it was a recommendation that made sense to make. “It’s just a no-brainer, and I think for the Liberals, how could you disagree with that?” Another recommendation was called for the government to work to implement a universal transit or U-Pass program, where all students pay a discounted rate for an unlimited transit pass, wherever feasible. “Schools in the [B.C.] Lower Mainland want to be included in the within that framework.” —_ halfway to getting my Bachelor of Arts degree and I’m \-P2Ss program and Post-secondary recommendations made up eight of the 49 in the report. “(The committee] did appreciate that post-secondary is an important economic driver, and certainly the New Democrat members did make that argument very strongly,” said Michelle Mungall, the NDP deputy advanced education critic, who also sat on the committee. “Obviously we were able to make that argument very strongly because students, faculty, and institutions made these arguments very strongly in their presentations.” The committee cited presentations from many institutions, student unions, and the Canadian Federation of Students in their reasoning for making their recommendations. According to Les, the two recommendations about student loans are there because increasing access to education for all citizens was important. “The committee is aware that a large percentage of students never retain any long-term debt whatsoever, but I think it’s more of a question about making sure that everybody has access to post-secondary education, and there are [people who] obviously do need to borrow to finance their education,” he told the Canadian University Press. “We don’t want the lack of money to be a limiting factor for students to access $60,000 in debt or some such story like that. That to me is an indication of not having managed one’s university Mungall said. career very well.” —John Les, MLA the NDP is 100 per cent behind them,” Currently, student associations in the Lower Mainland, or greater Vancouver area, have been participating in a campaign called “One Pass Now” to standardize U-Pass prices across the area, and that campaign was mentioned in the document. “There are rural schools where it might be feasible, and rural schools where it’s not. It’s worth investigating it province-wide. The Lower Mainland has started something brilliant; let’s see where else we can go with it,” said Mungall. Other recommendations included were to investigate moving university budgets and their grants from the consumer price index to the higher education price index, which specifically indexes cost related to post-secondary education. It also recommended researching how generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) might be keeping universities from taking out loans to build infrastructure. The recommendations are now in the hands of the province’s finance minister, Colin Hansen. “T’m hopeful that all of the recommendations, even if they’re not implemented right away, that they will be seriously considered and studied, and that ultimately we’ll see some implementation on all of them,” said Les. Douglas College Wrap-Up By Kristina Mameli and Eric Sangha Winter semester fees The deadline for winter semester fee payments is fast approaching. Monday, December 7 is the last day for domestic students to pay for the upcoming session. For more information visit http://www.douglas. be.ca/application-services.html or stop by the registrar’s office. Free dental cleanings at Douglas Dental Hygiene students from UBC are offering free dental cleanings for adults and families in financial need at the Douglas College New Westminster campus. The service if being offered on Saturday mornings and cleanings are by appointment. Call 604.827.4736 for more information. Winter orientation The Office for New Students presents Winter Orientation at both Douglas campuses. Orientation is a fantastic opportunity to meet people before classes start, to find your way around campus, meet your teachers, to learn about student services and all that the College has to offer. a Orientation at David Lam is December 15 from 6—9:30 p.m. and at the New Westminster campus December 17 from 6—-9:30 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.douglas. be.ca/new-students/office-new-students/orientation. html Be sure to look for The Other Press’ staff on location too! Sports science students and faculty seek Volleyball Retribution The sports science faculty will be taking on their students for Volleyball Retribution, a volleyball fundraiser featuring great door prizes and great entertainment. The grand prize is a pair of tickets to a Canucks game, although Giants tickets and other door prizes will be given away to spectators who come watch the students defend their title against the faculty. The event will take place from 2-4 p.m. on Monday, December 7 at the new West gym. Admission is $2. University students create 2010 leadership legacy Olympic athletes and students get together to support women’s leadership in Canada By Tanya Colledge, Staff Reporter American’s Hockey team, to get together to support this important cause. group of university students from across A= have brought together twelve internationally renowned athletes in a calendar aimed at raising money for The Antigone Foundation—a Canadian organization working to support young women’s involvement in leadership, politics, activism and feminism. As an effort to leverage the power of female athletes, the 2010 Dreams for Women calendar will help the students raise money for young women’s leadership training in Canada and to create a lasting social legacy from the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. Being a Vancouver-based organization, The Antigone Foundation wanted to do something special to commemorate the 2010 Winter Games and honour Canadian and U.S. female athletes. The organization decided to team up female university students with Olympic female athletes such as Robbi Weldon, member of Canada’s Para-Nordic Skiing team and Angela Ruggiero, member of the “We believe the Dreams for Women calendar will be a great way to spotlight the importance of women’s leadership with the help of these famous female athletes,” said Amanda Reaume, executive director of The Antigone Foundation. “We were happy to collaborate with young women across Canada to make the project a reality.” Expecting to sell over 5,000 copies of the calendar, the foundation plans to use the profits to help fund “Dreams for Women Scholarship”, an awatd given to young female leaders, and to sponsor a leadership tour across Canada providing leadership training to girls and young women. The calendar will be sold for $20 and will be available on The Antigone Foundation blog or by emailing antigonemagazine@hotmail.com. In addition, the calendars will be sold at the discounted price of $10 to non-profit women’s organizations, in hopes that they will be able to use the calendars to fundraise for their own organizations.