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He says, she says

Student Associations at Douglas

(Part 1 of 2)

share of conflicts. One of the main rifts is caused by the Canadian

AE hough not a place of overt controversy, Douglas College does have it’s

Federation of Students, or more specifically, the choice of student
associations which Douglas College faces. November is not only a month of
elections, it is a month of conferences. The CFS has a national convention, in
Ottawa later this month, as does the embroynic British Columbia Students
Association. This provides a good opportunity to examine what is happening
_ with our college and student lobby groups. This issue’s He says, she says, (or
more correctly, They say, they say) will look at the big kahuna, the CFS (at 440
000 members nationally), a bit of history and what it claims to offer to the

students of Douglas.
by Jim Chliboyko

At a press conference in September,
BC Education, Skills and Training
Minister Moe Sihota, in a preamble to
an anouncement of new provincial
education initiatives, mentioned the
Canadian Federation of Students
(CFS) in a rather favourable way.
Sihota called the CFS a “great
organization” that had played a key
role in recent changes, including the
formation of a provincial task force
and increasing maximum weekly loan
benefits.

So, if the federation is so great, why
isn’t it in Douglas? Or why isn’t
Douglas in the CFS? Douglas College

| has been in the CFS. The CFS has

been in Douglas College.

A quick history: in 1982, at the
Douglas College Annual General
Meeting, 20 students bothered to
gather and voted the Federation in.
This relationship managed to last nine
years, and like most stormy marriages,
there was trouble all along. In 1987,
the Douglas College Student Society
“staged yet another referendum, this
time to oust the student lobby group
from campus. That attempt failed.
Finally, a January ’92 referendum saw
the CFS cast out from the College.

The CFS didn’t go quietly, though.
The referendum was loudly protested
| and has been a bone of contention ever
since. Philip Link, executive officer of
the BC chapter, called the vote “a
farce. It was nothing democratic.”
Among the offences, which the CFS
still consider relevant: the available
campaign period was during the
Christmas break; vote-coaching at the
voting sites; printed propaganda within
the ballot boxes; stuffing ballot boxes;
and the CFS being denied a scrutineer.
As far as validity goes, however, both
elections might be considered invalid.
Both of them proceeded at numbers far
below. quorum.

Another problem is the issue of $40
000 collected from students for both
provincial and national CFS fees, the
year of the referendum. It has never
been turned over, says Link, and is still
owed to the federation. Jamie McEvoy
has called the 1992 referendum a
“third-world election.” McEvoy is the
current Douglas College Student
Society VP External and considers
himself a supporter of the Federation.
“Why the CFS doesn’t have an office
on campus has more to do with student

leaders instead of student interests”,
McEvoy says. “Also, we haven’t
discussed it in awhile.”

“Does the DCSS want to be a part of
the most effective student lobby
group?” McEvoy asks. McEvoy
acknowledges the Federation has
weaknesses. But, he says,”’the
Federation is the largest, most
established student group in Canada.”

According to the CFS, there are
Other ways to look at the problem.
“Douglas has not just severed ties with
the Union, it’s also severed ties with
SFU, Carleton, Capilano...” says Link.

Though there is talk of alternative
student interest groups, the VP
External says, “there is no effective-
ness in reinventing the wheel. We have
a tuition freeze aad we do because of
the Federation. If amyone thinks it
would have happened without the CFS
is kidding themselves.

“Any attempt to forma second
provincial student federation just
shows that there are people who
cannot work with the current one. If
there are two student federations,,then
both are weaker.” McEvoy cites recent
history concerning this weakening of
student power. Dual student move-
ments in Quebec and Ontario were

’ splintered after working at cross

purposes, he says, while the Ontario
student groups, the CFS and the
upstart Ontario Undergraduate Student
Alliance (OUSA), were played off of
each other by the provincial govern-
ment. “Besides,” says McEvoy,” we
don’t have the population base to have
more than one student organization.”
Asked whether or not CFS support-
ers have been spotted “passing out
CFS buttons on campus,” McEvoy
states that the answer is “no.” “The
CFS doesn’t conduct raids.” As for the
future of the Federation on New
Westminster, or Coquitlam, soil,
McEvoy does entertain the thought,
but not totally. He would rather see the
College, initially entering a close
working relationship with the federa-
tion. “Douglas College is not ready
yet. I envision a situation like the close
working relationship the Federation
has with Langara and UBC, they’re
attending the provincial meeting, too.”
Next issue: CFS's track record,
and the rise of the next genera-

tion of student associations.

Crosswalk an Election Issue

VP External petitions candidates

by Jim Chliboyko

They emerge tentatively from the
darkness at the side of the road, pacing
nervously on the wet grass above the
curb. They look at the passing cars,
then, without warning, they dart onto
the avenue, in between breaks in
traffic.

Some run awkwardly across the wet
asphalt, some are more methodical,
stutter-stepping their way to the
median where, without looking, they
stop and wait; they’ve done this
before, and they know from experi-
ence that they’ ll be stranded there for
another minute or two.

Some have umbrellas, all of them have
bags. They are all either coming or
going from Douglas College. They
squint in the glare of headlights and
pinpricks of rain, and stare at the other
side of the street until it’s their turn to
go.
This drama is observable most of
the day at the intersection of Royal
Avenue and 7th Street, immediately to
the north of Douglas College. It is an
intersection without a crosswalk —
manual, controlled, or otherwise —
and Douglas College VP External
Jaimie McEvoy is determined to do
something about it. He has been
petitioning candidates running in New
Westminster’s municipal elections
(which take place on November 16) to
support his request for a crosswalk to
be installed at the corner. The DCSS
strategy is to influence votes in favour
of candidates who support the
crosswalk issue, counting on votes
from the part of the Douglas College
student body that happens to reside in -
New West.

Large numbers of students on foot
are crossing at the intersection;
McEvoy, over the past month, has
counted anywhere from 25 to 130
students an hour effectively jay-
walking to and from the school.

When the Other Press staked out
the corner under the eaves of St. Paul’s
Reformed Episcopal Church, at the
Southeast corner of the intersection,

- last Tuesday night, 12 people were

observed dashing across the six-lane
Royal Avenue, in a 15-minute watch,
from 6:00pm to 6:15pm. Most of the
jay-walkers ran from the northwest
corner, in the shadow of an apartment
building, to the southwest corner,
where Douglas College sits.

Lack of a crosswalk at Royal and
7th is not a new issue. As recent as
February, 1996, the city rejected a
request from the college for a

crosswalk at the intersection. The city
informed the college that Douglas
College students, employees and local
residents that they should use the
crosswalks at Royal and 6th and Royal
and 8th. According to a letter ad-
dressed to all municipal election
candidates, on Douglas College
Student Society letterhead, “The city’s
response is simply unrealistic. People
do use this intersection to access the
most populated structure on Royal
Avenue.... A new student building
under construction is expected to
increase pedestrian use of the intersec-
tion.... A slope on the road adds to the
problem by reducing the opportunity

    

we should

really put
pedestrians
first, and
prioritize
walking.

 

 

 

 

for pedestrians and drivers to spot one
another, increasing the danger.... A
serious accident is waiting to happen.”
The letter is signed by McEvoy and
DCSS President Katrina Lennax.

An hour later, that same Tuesday
night, McEvoy is found waiting for his
turn at the Fraternal Order of Eagles
Hall on Columbia Street where a New
Westminster all-candidates meeting is
taking place. Though he had submitted
a question for the Q & A session,
McEvoy is also planning to rush the
candidates during the break. He spends
a restless hour and a half sitting
through city council and mayoral
candidate introductions, though, and
when it comes time for the first round

' of questions they seem to concern

building codes and “the major starling
problem” and not much else.

A bell rings, its time for the break
and McEvoy immediately makes for
mayoral candidate Calvin Donnelly.
“T’m totally in favour of (the
crosswalk), I’ve been at it for years,”
says Donnelly, “Of course, it will have

_to be manual, because it is not used all -

the time, but that is one promise Ill
make. If I’m elected, we'll have a
manual crosswalk there within three
years.” Howard King, city council

candidate, former Douglas College
student and former poli-sci classmate
of McEvoy’s, has a shocking admis-
sion. “I’ve almost ran over students
myself at the corner,” he says. “It
would not cost a lot to put something
in there. But if the students want to do
something about it, they have to vote,
they have to think for themselves.
Municipal politics affects them the
most of any level of politics. I really
hope they read the literature and learn
to decipher the promises.” City council
candidate Jerry Dobrovolny says
“Royal Avenue is a street of extremes.
Sometimes people go far too fast, at
rush hour the street is bumper-to-
bumper. It’s peculiar.” Dobrovolny is a
city engineer and is well-aware of
traffic patterns in and around New
Westminster. According to
Dobrovolny, Royal Avenue was to
become a Grand Ceremonial Boul-
evard had New Westminster ever been
made the capital of BC. “Royal used to
be real funky, it had angled parking in
the middle.... Now it’s becoming a
highway.” As to the crosswalk issue,
he says “Absolutely. I think we should
really put pedestrians first, and
prioritize walking. Of course, it would
have to be pedestrian activated.”
Mayoral candidate Helen Sparkes is a
little more diplomatic, even in the
presence of a student reporter. “Before
I say, I will have to hear both sides of
the issue. It does need to be revisited.
It’s been 2 years. It’s a good time to
review.”

The most contentious exchange of
the night came towards the end of the
meeting. According to McEvoy,
mayoral candidate Cathy Cherris said,
in an irritated tone, “You guys are big,
you can cross the road together.”

According to the DCSS letter, “The
society plans to publicize the positions
taken by candidates on this matter
prior to voting day to allow residents
in the area who use this crossing to
exercise their frarichise accordingly.”

McEvoy notes, though, that he has
only received only verbal replies from
candidates, and no formal responses.
As well as open letters and confronting
the candidates, the DCSS is also
collecting signatures for a petition
advocating installation of a crosswalk,
having collected 382 signatures so far.
McEvoy also hopes that a list of
candidate’s positions on the crosswalk
issue will be completed before election
day. Students are invited to check out
the list at the DCSS office.

 
   
 
  
      
     
     
   

 
 
  
  

   

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The Other Press

October 29 1996 7