Registration madness - Students vie for classes Anita Hagan champions financial aid for students Welcome Back ‘ By John McDonald Happy New Year! Spring 87 brought a registration record number of students into Douglas College and some extra money, a “post-Expo gift” = from the provincial government, meant more courses for those extra students. Trish Angus, Douglas College, said she thought registration “went very well.” She reported a un- official preliminary number of 5,318 students through the gates, excluding ABE and Maple Ridge students. “It looks like we’re going to Registrar for have the most students since the split,” said Angus. Douglas College and Kwantlen College in Surrey were originally one © school, with Kwantlen splitting off from Douglas in 1982. Douglas student population was over 7000 spread over eleven campuses before the split, said Angus. The split, discussed as early as 1978 within the college, was part of a Ministry of Education objective to have a college on both sides of the Fraser dating from the early Sixties. College statistician Doug Tal- ling, confirmed that registra- tion numbers had exceeded last falls record registration but cautioned that official figures won’t be in until after late regis- tration is over at the end of next week. Students were generally pleased with the registration process but some voiced dis- pleasure at the sparseness of course offerings for new stu- dents. Pajama party protest It’s a pajama party! The Douglas College Student Society is planning a “sleep- over’ in the college concourse to show “concern about the contract negotiations taking place between the BCGEU and the College Board”, said society president Scott Nelson. “Tt’s also to inform the stu- dents of Douglas College about the possibility of a strike and the effects on their education,” said Nelson. Everyone is welcome to the January 21st event which was unanimously endorsed by the student senate at their Jan. 12th meeting, said Nelson. “I told management about it- they said it was interesting,” added Nelson. Nelson says coffee and hot chocolate will be served and that everyone should bring their homework and ___ their sleeping bag. N_D:P. dalls Contract talks fail The members of the British Columbia Government Employees Union within Doug- las College are in a legal posis- tion to strike and could exercise that right within the month. Marian Exmann, chairperson of the Local 57-Component 14 bargaining unit, said -that negotiations with the college board broke off on November 20th last year. fering, she said. said Exmann. later if the vote is in favour. available for comment. A rejection vote on November 26th saw 99% of members pre- sent vote against the college of- A strike vote will be held sometime in the near future, The walkout would follow seventy-two hours Cliff Murnane, chairperson of the College Board was un- for tuition freeze - aims for elimination NDP Vancouver VANCOUVER -- BC's student aid program, which is called the worst in Canada, prevents tal- ented young people from attending colleges and _ univer- sities say New Democrats Darlene Marzari (Vancouver- Point Grey) and Anita Hagen (New Westminster). In a brief presented Dec. 31 to the government appointed Student Aid Review group New Democrats call for ‘an im- mediate restoration of student grants, chopped by the Bennett government, as well as a com- plete reevaluation of student aid needs. “The current aid program relies entirely on loans,” says Hagen, New Democrat debate leader for job training, “and discourages young people from continuing their education. Meanwhile BC. imports trained people to fill skilled jobs.” According. to Marzari any new student aid program must take in to account regional dis- parities. “When the majority of post-secondary institutions and all the universities are in the Lower Mainland and Victo- ria, the system discriminates against potential students who live out side those centres.” The New Democrats have proposed the establishment of an Opportunity Equalization grant scheme which would rec- ognize the extra financial bur- dens borne by students from the interior, northern BC and Vancouver Island. New Democrats have also called for an immediate freeze on tuition fees with gradual elimination over five years. Says Marzari, “tuition fees in Quebec are less than half of ours and they send twice .as many young people per capita on to higher education. I don’t see any reason why we can’t do even better than that.”