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Lower Mainland Student Forum
Colin Craik
OP Contributor
For the past six months or so, I’ve been
joking that I’m the “Senior Tutor” in
the Learning Centre here at DCNW. It
doesn’t mean that I’m particularly smart
or that I’ve memorized the APA style
sheet or anything like that. It just
means that I’ve worked there longer
than anybody else and I like funny
titles. I’m also sometimes known as
“Mr. Banana.” I keep telling everyone;
its Dr. Banana. I didn’t spend six years
at Banana Medical School to be called
mister!
Anyway, I suppose somebody took
my made-up credentials as Senior Tutor
seriously. That’s the only reason that I
can think of for being invited to partic-
ipate in the Lower Mainland Student
Forum right here at Douglas NW. It
was a kind of student focus group with
Shirley Bond, the provincial Minister of
Advanced Education. Also in atten-
dance were a few senior members of the
ministry's branches. It felt good to be
taken seriously by other Senior
Bananas. Those that played an interac-
tive role with the cross-section of 19
students from various Lower Mainland
colleges were: Arlene Aton, Director,
Public Institutions Branch and Martin
Young, Senior Advisor, Corporate
Services Branch. The 19 students repre-
sented six colleges: Douglas College,
Vancouver Community College,
Capilano College, the Justice Institute,
Langara College, and the Institute of
Indigenous Government. Although
when I say represented, I should point
out that very few of these students were
elected representatives. That very point
was brought up by one of the few elect-
ed student representatives, Christiaan
Botelho of Capilano College. No, that’s
not a typo. There’s supposed to be two
A’s. He suggested, politely, but firmly,
that this lack of elected representation
went against the ministry’s obligation to
listen to and take seriously the elected
voices of the student population.
Minister Bond responded that she felt
that the Ministry of Advanced
Education had done and was doing an
adequate job of listening to elected stu-
dent representatives, but there was also
value in engaging in more direct com-
munication with unelected students.
That’s where Dr. Banana comes in.
I tried to ask intelligent questions. I
tried to take as many notes as possible.
I tried to defend the interests of
Douglas College students as best I
could, and I tried to turn the discussion
away from tuition increases. It’s not
that I don’t care about tuition increases.
It’s just that I doubt that any of the
nineteen of us could have told Minister
Bond anything that she hasn't already
heard a thousand times. We think
tuition increases suck. What a surprise.
What I wanted to talk about was recog-
nition of foreign credentials. As I
understand it, we shouldn't be too
angry with the provincial government
over the plight of doctors, nurses, and
engineers from other countries being
told that their hard earned degrees don’t
mean squat here. We should be angry
with unions and other professional
associations for using their collective
muscle to make sure that the supply of
workers recognized as professional stays
low, and the demand for Canadian cer-
tified workers stays high. That wasn’t
Minister Bond’s explanation. I’ve heard
that theory before. My question was
whether or not the Ministry of
Advanced Education could do anything
about it.
The answer was: they're trying. They
would like to see an educational system
where immigrants could take a six-
month training course to bring them
up to speed with the Canadian way of
doing things, instead of having to start
over in first year courses. The best news
I heard on the issue was that pilot proj-
ects to address this issue were being set
up by the Ministry of Community,
Aboriginal and Women’s Services
.
Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time
to get into details about these projects.
We had only two hours of discussion
time, and most of that time was eaten
up talking about tuition increases.
So what did the representatives of the
Ministry of Advanced Education have
to say about tuition increases? I’m sure
youre dying to know. The quote of the
day came from Arlene Paton: “The next
year is going to be a hard year because
the government has committed to bal-
ancing the budget.” So, as I interpret
her meaning, things are tough all over,
don't expect
any more
money from
the
ment to help
out. Minister
Bond also
reminded us
that funding to
institutions has
not been cut.
Lower
govern-
College students
in Ireland,
France, and
Germany dont
October 1, 2003
you, and thank you. Something else
that came up that shocked the yellow
socks off of me is that college students
in Ireland, France, and Germany don’t
pay any tuition at all. None! I guess
that’s why we don’t see many 20-year-
old Irish immigrants. Minister Bond
made it very clear that the provincial
government was never going adopt that
system in BC. In this province post-sec-
ondary education requires an invest-
ment by the individual, not just the
state. Damn!
So all in all, I found the forum to be
personally ful-
filling and
educational. |
was able to ask
a question or
two. I learned
a few things
that I didn’t
know before. I
felt that I was
listened to and
taken serious-
Mainland col- ly. But so
leges are oe what? What
receiving the py any fu Z £10 Vl about the
same amount thousands of
of funding as Douglas stu-
during the a L a dents who
tuition freeze. didn’t have the
Furthermore, privilege of
flexibility as to what institutions can do
with provincial funding has been
increased. The province is in the process
of returning control to the institutions.
Another factor affecting tuition that
was cited was that more people than
ever before wish to attend post-second-
ary institutions in British Columbia. So
for the second time in the forum’s dis-
cussion, the Ministry has sympathy for
students, but there’s only so much they
can do to fight the effects of supply and
demand.
Other interesting statistics thrown
out were that 50 percent of students
managed to graduate debt free and that
the taxpayer provides 75 percent of the
money needed to keep this joint going.
I'd like to take this opportunity to
thank any taxpayers who may be read-
ing this. Thank you, thank you, thank
making direct eye contact with the
Minister and her Senior Bananas? How
do they have their questions answered?
How do they state their opinions?
Who's going to listen to them? Well,
Shirley says she will. For one thing, you
can get information from her ministry’s
website , and
she encourages you to email her person-
ally. Actually, she encouraged me to
email her personally, but I’m sure she
wont mind. Her email address is
AVED.Minister@gems9.gov.bc.ca. She
claims that she answers questions and
that she values feedback. Let’s see if it’s
true. Again, I personally feel that it
wouldn't be terribly constructive to just
say, “Tuition increases suck.” We're all
smart people. Let’s try to come up with
something a little more constructive
than that.
a
i
Page 8
The Lucky Bus
Angie Cameron
e http://www.otherpress.ca
Or is it just another waste of taxpayers’ money?
Any of the pre-selected “Lucky buses” you get
on will give you free stuff! Translink has desig-
nated Scratch and Win: “Cruise Directors” to
ride on the buses to fork out free rides, Scratch
and Win tickets, coupons, and samples.
So let me get this straight here. I get on the
316 to Surrey Central and these “Cruise
Directors” will give me a mini-pack of tooth-
paste or some Herbal Essence? I think this is
just another grab for Translink to get more peo-
David Lam Contributor
ple riding our transit system, which in itself
isnt too bad of an idea, but I think that they
could do a little better than that. Like lowering
the fares would be a great start. Yes? No? At
least Translink has put a freeze on the monthly
bus passes and ticket saver packs, making it a
little more affordable for us.
Instead of spending a lot of money on this
useless expenditure, how about getting better
and more frequent runs? Better transit for its
users? Holy Lucky bus, Batman!
~