the

exthier

‘ebruary 25 1998

   
 

he vote seems more regular than the
Olympics; this week, Douglas
College students will yet again go to
the polls to see if we want to step out
for another round with the Canadian
Federation of Students (CFS).

Voting will take place this week on all three
Douglas College campuses, from February 23 to
February 27. When asked last week about the
feedback they'd been getting, those managing the

CFS kiosk were loath to be recorded, but they did
say that the response had mostly been positive.
Voting has been moderate. As of Monday
afternoon, the ballot box had an estimated 190-200
votes, according to Joey Hansen, SFSS
e e president and one of those who was
Jim Chiib oyko manning the voting table.
with ; Douglas College has been a CFS
school in the past, having been one of
Homan Nanaie the founding members in 1981. In fact,
a check of the CFS website reveals that
Douglas College is listed as a member
institution of the Federation, as Local 18. Though
DC is not labelled as inactive or even as a prospec-
tive member, a CFS spokesperson at the New West
campus explained that legally, Douglas is still a
CFS school, which accounts for the wording on the
ballot; “Do you want to renew membership in the
Canadian Federation of Students?”
“Douglas College students never had a legal vote
to withdraw from the Federation... the referendum
_ was a violation of the rules, rules that are set by the
Canadian Federation of Students, by other student
associations across the country,” she said. “Mem-
bers of the Canadian Federation of Students didn’t
feel that they could accept the results of the
referendum because of the serious infraction.” A
major charge was that the referendum had been
held within the first week of the winter term in
1992, well within the six week time period during
which the Federation had prohibited referenda.
Bear with us those who've read this history
before:
Douglas College and the CFS started their
relationship in 1982, with the blessing of the 20
students who voted in favour of the federation. The

 

Press

Suffering post-special issue burnout since 1976

FS referendum descend
pon Douglas How ong wil tis

~ dance last?

  
  
 
 
 

  
 
 
   

union was a rocky one, though, and the partner-
ship was marred by trouble and controversy, The
“No” forces tried in 1987 to oust the Fed from
Douglas, failed, then succeeded during the next
attempt in 1992, despite the aforementioned
charge, amongst other violations,

Fallout from that period inthe Douglas-CFS
connection is still floating around campus.
Primarily, there is the question of a missing
$28,000 to $40,000, the last of the fees that had
been collected by the DCSS on behalf of the CES.
The cash was never forwarded.

The current executive of the DCSS is seen to be
largely pro-CFS, and recent in-fighting within the
society is predominantly drawn along pro- and
anti-CFS lines. In fact, DCSS president Jaimie
McEvoy, a longtime supporter of the Federation,
has been a CFS employee in the past, working for

- Travel Cuts, the CFS travel agency.

“There's a benefit in working together with other
student unions across the country—it can only
make us stronger,” said Christa Peters, a member of
the pro-CFS camp, who is also VP External of the
DCSS. Capilano College, Simon Fraser University
and the UBC grad school are the other CFS
schools in the Lower Mainland.

Peters adds, “Also, the services...” The CFS does
offer perks and programs for member institutions,
other than just the persuasive lobbying power it
touts; the International Student Identity Card, free
to CFS students, $15 for others, group dental and
medical insurance for students and other, specific
student discounts, at places such as Ikea,-the

~ student travel agency Travel Cuts, and the Student

Work and Volunteer Abroad program.
There are complaints, though, that the Federa-
tion is an unwieldy bureaucracy that costs more

_ than it puts out.

“Well, they [CFS] petition, they lobby for the ‘
tuition freeze,” says Kelli Semple, Athletic Rep. for

- the DCSS. “But we're a non-CFS school, and we

do that anyway. Why would we pay $120,000 for
that? I cannot justify joining a union for
$120,000.”

(The student fee for being a member of the CFS
will be $6.24 per semester, per student. There are

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DC Volleyball kicks ass + page 7

Volume 22 + Issue 19

estimates that CFS will collect something in the
six-figure amount from Douglas, which will make
it CFS’s second biggest BC contributor.)

Another issue that angers Semple is that the CFS

still has their kiosk up in the New West concourse
during the voting period. “As of 9am Friday, we
were abiding by the DCSS referendum rules. As of
9am Monday, we are operating under CFS
referendum rules,” she said, of the booth that was
still standing, though there had been talk of
bringing it down on Friday afternoon.

According to Peters, there had not been much in
the way of DCSS referendum rules, so it was .
decided over the weekend that the student society
would abide by the CFS referendum regulations.
One of these regulations is that there is no
campaigning to be done within 25 feet of the
polling station, though the kiosk is allowed to stay
up. At the New West campus, this ‘no campaigning
zone’ is outlined with a thin strip of masking tape.

When asked about the viability of other
organizations representing Douglas, particularly the
Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA),
Peters said that in conversations she’s had with
CASA executives, they have maintained that they
are strictly a university-based organization.

Though there has been some shaky relationships
between the CFS and a few of the schools they've
represented in the past, various people contacted at
those other institutions were unwilling to talk
against the Federation; lest they be sued for their
remarks.

While there is some resistance to the CFS on
campus, it is not an organized résistance, not as
organized as the CFS, anyway. There are no stands
erected for any other student organizations, nor has
there been an active ‘no’ campaign of any kind.

However, at the last minute there appeared to be
a desperately mounted anti-CFS poster campaign,
whose arena was the men’s washrooms in the New
West campus.

The soggy, typo-laden notes seemed to have been
hastily written, and were soon ripped down by
scrutineers.ep