OE PT a ll ay ey EEO EE ie FO TT Se eat, at ee Loo Sayer enemerres se may earner ten ee vany ee The Other Press 12 Volume III Number th Other press Coquitlam reps asked to quit Student Council voted Mon- day night to ‘‘ask for the resignations’’ of Coquitlam campus chairman Bert Tymy- chysynm and Coquitlam vice- chairman Steve Warren. The reason, according to the Council, was due to lack of attendance at meetings. Under the Student Society Constitut- ion, a member may be asked to resign if he/she does not attend three consecutive council meet- ings without good cause. It is up to the council’s discretion to decide what constitutes just cause. Tymychysynm said in an in- terview last week that originally he wanted to run as a campus representative only. However, he chose to run for Coquitlam Chairman because no one else would run for the position. Leonora Grande, former Co- quitlam chairmwoman, chose to run in New Westminster in last December’s elections. iymycnhysynm aiso said ‘‘he ran into a brick wall’’ whenever he tried to get anything done in Coquitlam. In other council business, resignations were officially re- ceived from Richmond rep Andy Bitcon and Surrey rep Geoff Nash. This now brings the 26 member council down to a total membership of 11--no campus has full representation. Under the old contstitution, each campus was entitled to four reps, a campus chairper- son, and a campus vice-chair- person. Geoff Nash was later appoint- ed Chief Returning Officer for the spring semester elections. Nash reported that he ‘‘would like to have the elections over with by April 20’’, adding that -polling would take place on April 19 and 20. He also said he would “‘like to see some real elections for a change’’, instead of the “‘usual’’ acclamations. Alcohol not for everyone What you see, Who you see, Leave it here. It sounds like the rules of an underground group operating in secrecy, but actually it is a sign that is placed at meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. Speaking to a group of stu- dents on the New Westminster campus, Pat, a member of AA for over four years, said the stereo-type of an alcoholic-skid row bum-does not reflect real- ity. He said the average age of AA, with a membership over 1 million, is 30 years old. Pat gave a little history of his life before joining AA--losing jobs, broken marriage, a stint in the penitentiary, emergency wards, and the skids. He said AA is not a religion but a coming to terms with higher powers. Alcohol, which he described as a liquid narcot- ic, is used as an escape device. AA has been about for 40 years. It receives no govern- ment funding, has no mass organization, and has terrific unity, Pat said. There are approximately 200 meetings per week in the Lower Mainland for AA, and ten are for young people. AA can be a group of 10 people or just two people who want to keep each other sober, he said. The meetings start at a set time anda set place but have no ritual or officer as such, except a secretary. At meetings people are called upon to speak and discussions are held going in to sobriety and problems regarding it. Pat said the group does not criticize each other in any sense-‘‘no pressure, just free advice.”’ Pat spoke about people he had known for four years but still did not know their last names. The best reason for anonim- ity, he said, was when AA was founded, to be an alcoholic was a no-no and was related to morals and will power. He said the tradition of anon- imity has kept AA alive and flourishing. “‘If people know a person belongs to AA and they see them get drunk, they say AA does not work. Pat said the 70 per cent success rate is due to the idea of anonimity. AA has a general office, but every group is autonomous... AA does not take funding from the ‘‘outside’’ because then it would have to take directives Pat said. Pat reminded the group AA is not for treatment but for recov- ery. He said he is trying to reach a tevel of consciousness when he does not have to come down. Pat also told of Alanon-a group for anyone connected to an alcoholic (‘‘Every practising alcoholic affects five other peo- ple’’) and Alateen--for children of alcoholics. Pat invited everyone to drop out to the Hyatt Inn in Rich- mond on the Easter week where an International Conference on Alcohol is being held. Chairman Ray Harris [at right] and other members of the Student. Council [below] at last Monday’s Student Council Meeting. DOUGLAS COLLEGE EE Canadian’s must ‘work together’ The people of Canada must accept responsibility for mould- ing a country where both French and English people can live and work together, Jeanne Sauve, minister of communications, said Thursday night. Speaking in New Westmin- ster to The Canadian Club, Madame Sauve said, ‘‘This is a two-way street...it is a problem of all Canadians.”’ “If we think we can preserve this way of life...if we feel there is a contract that forms a basic Canadian identity...if people in Quebec feel this is still real, they will decide to stay.”’ “It is time for people outside of Quebec to say loudly that they want Quebec to Stay,’’ she said. Sauve said the Quebec elect- ion “‘brought on a certain con- cern’’ in this country. ‘‘My honest feeling is that there is a malice in this country.’’ ““Why are we suddenly threatened?’’, she asked. She said this is a broad country, and it impossible to make policies that suit every- one. ‘‘Politicians are obsessed with national policies. We’re always out to build a railroad.’ Sauve explained that there are cultural aspects to this “‘malice’’. ‘‘They (the French) were never told they had to abandon it (culture), so they kept it’’, she said. She said French pedple in Quebec ‘‘can not always speak French in their own province’’, and are restricted from job promotions because this usually requires moving to an English- speaking province. The force which is dominant in Quebec is ‘‘upward mobil- ity’’, she said. If a solution is not found, ‘‘Quebecers will turn to themselves for solutions.’’ Sauve said their response would be: “‘If we’re going to hell, we might as well go our way.”’ She said if an option isn’t found, the youth of Quebec will be attracted to the idea of separatism. “‘This is why I am worried’’, she said. ‘I think it is better for Quebecers to stay within Can- ada...(and) to get all Canadians to face the basic facts.’’ “I don’t want you to have guilt feelings’, she said. ‘‘Per- haps this is a time for assess- ment and reflection.”’