OPINIONS.

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Should we stay or should we go now?

Weighing the benefits
of CFS membership
and national unity

 

By Cazzy Lewchuk,
Contributor

Ue organized
group meant to further
the interests of employees or
students—have existed for
years. They usually serve to
improve relations between
groups and their superiors (i.e.,
corporations and educational
institutes), stand up for
members’ rights, and provide
services for all who need them.
The Douglas Students’ Union
(DSU) is composed of every
student within Douglas College.
It provides students with health
plans, meeting spaces, and
student resources, among other
things. Some of these benefits
are made available with the
support and participation of
the Canadian Federation of
Students (CFS), a 32-year-old
national union with over 500,000
members.

The CFS is heavily
involved with several causes
to better students’ lives and
their academic community.
They launch campaigns to
reduce tuition rates and fees,
encourage higher voter turnout
among students, provide
an International Student
Identification Card (ISIC) to all
members, and increase funding
for scholarships and research.

This September, it was
announced that 16 schools are

in the process of ending their
membership with the CFS.
Some members of our own
DSU are also considering a
vote to leave in the future. The
schools leaving plan to start
new organizations under more
“direct membership control.” J
believe this movement is bad for
both the futures of individual
schools and for the CFS.

For the schools, it will cut
the local unions and students
off from being nationally
involved with their fellow
Canadian students. The new
unions formed will only serve
the interests of the individual
schools and not care about other
schools, whether locally or
across the country.

The DSU is a founding
members of the CFS, working
alongside more than 80 other
schools in the country on issues
that affect us all. If we leave the
CFS, we will no longer be part
of the community that binds
all post-secondary institutions
in Canada. Students who take
classes at other institutions will
be especially conflicted, such as
those in co-op programs like the
SFU Degree Partnership. What
happens if someone attends one
school in the CFS and another
that is not? Are they still a
member of the CFS? Or the
non-CFS school? It could cause
issues for their privileges in
either union and create a serious
conflict of interest.

The lobbying done by
unions works on both local and
national levels. If the DSU is not
part of the CFS, we lose out on
many of the national benefits,
such as regulations for lower

mS)

tuition. A basic essential service,
the ISIC, which is currently free
at Douglas and many other
schools, would cost more under
non-CFS membership. Leaving
the CFS will leave students
unable to truly enjoy the benefits

SU saul re :

or make decisions that affect
all Canadian students: tuition,
scholarships, and funding.
Being a part of the CFS is
the easiest and most reliable
way to know what our rights
and responsibilities as college

a

siyntl

A CFS rally in Ottawa (handout) | Photo courtesy of Macleans

 

students in Canada are. I believe
the CFS works as a positive
factor for the DSU and allows us
to be more connected and aware
of the student population in our
country.

 

Well, what were they expecting?

New/expecting mothers
parking Stalls are
excessive

 

By Jacey Gibb, Editor-in-chief

parking lot can be a

attlefield. Roaming cars
warring against each other over
vacant parking spots, engines
salivating as they hover around
for someone to leave; loose
shopping carts lay dormant
until a breeze comes along and
sends them crashing into a
parked vehicle. Such a horrible
environment, it’s no wonder
there are stalls legally reserved
for individuals with handicap

16

passes. What grinds my gears
though is the rise of expecting
mother / family stalls.

They’re impossible to miss.
They’re usually located near the
entrance of buildings, right there

Places like Metrotown are
notorious for being a cesspool
of villainy, especially around
the weekend. But just because
you're expecting doesn’t mean
you should expect special

Being male, I understand
that I will never know the
feeling of being pregnant and
having to internally carry
around a junior human. It’s a
plight I’m happy to avoid, but it

But just because youre expecting doesnt mean you should expect special

treatment.

beside the handicap parking

stalls—which I understand,

by the way. Let me hone my

criticism in on the expecting

mother / family stalls specifically.
Parking is just one of those

things that sucks for everyone.

treatment. Since the introduction
of vehicular transportation,
pregnant women have managed
to somehow make their way
across a parking lot; did
something change in recent
years to inhibit this?

just seems absurd that there’s a
semi-official system in place to
try and accommodate this.

Will this be a slippery slope
on who should have parking
stalls set aside for them? If
there are family stalls, then why

aren't there stalls specifically
for the elderly who don’t have
handicap permits but also have
difficulty walking? Maybe
there should be stalls for people
who're sick and don’t feel
entirely up to the challenge of
having to cross the parking lot
to get medicine from the stores?

It’s difficult trying to write
this article without coming off
like an arrogant young person
who’s insensitive to the miracle
of life, but this whole idea of
sectioning off a stall simply
because someone has kids or is
expecting just seems ridiculous.
I can understand why someone
might think they were a good
idea, but it just comes across as
excessive.