FA VAQ apMeay pit Naga PAGE 6 April 15, 1985 Well, if you ask me... It’s time to start asking questions and demanding answers. . Why is education being cut back? Why is the crime rate increasing? by RHONDA JESCHKE ‘Why are new diseases cropping up and epidemics of old diseases renewed? Why is our planet being polluted beyond repair with chemicals? Why are people in 3rd world countries starving while Ronald Reagan wants support for his ‘‘Star Wars’’? Why aren’t the public privy to government documents? Why is Reagan opposed to the Equal Rights Amendment? In the 1960’s there was an open door policy for education. Mature women and ethnic groups took advantage of the opportunity. Now education is being severely cut back. Academics challenge governmental policies, be- cause education tends to make people more critical. Liberal Arts in particular are being stomped on because art is used to express thought. The countries that have free post- secondary education seem to be the ones most opposed to nuclear arms (ie. France and Australia). Grenadians were on their way to becoming more educated, economical- ly independent and socially aware... before U.S. invasion. A popular slogan before the invasion was ‘“‘If you don’t know, learn, if you do know, teach.”’ Grenada was invaded, not because it was a military threat to the U.S., but because the Grenadians would serve as an example to the Carribean and Latin America, where U.S. interest is high. The Grenadians were kept from becoming educated. In South Africa, whites have free education while blacks must pay. 190 million pounds is spent on white mili- tary training, while 8 million pounds is spent on black education. In Canada, particularly in B.C., it is becoming exceedingly more difficult to get an education, especially for those from lower-income families. Lawyers, judges, doctors, psychia- trists and politicians generally have had higher education. Many were for- tunate enough to come from the right families and go to the right universit- ies, where they made a circle of friends who could help them in their careers. The power of our system is with those who have ‘‘old’’ money. The entire world is in the power of a surprisingly few people—the Fortune 500. The judges, lawyers, business exec- utives, politicians (really only puppets for the multi-national companies) need to have a system which enables them to continue making money. The multi- nationals make money by advocating capitalism. Consume, consume, con- sume. Make people want what they. don’t have (or even need). But if people are unemployed they cannot afford the items of luxury (or even necessity). So what happens? There is animosity between those who have and those who don’t, and the crime rate increases. With the abolish- ment of many of the social services to help those less fortunate, the justice system and the people it employs does This page of The Other Press is reserved solely ‘or the purpose of correspondence and opinion. The iews expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of this newspaper, or the Douglas College student society or administration. All letters and opinions must be typed or written legibly, and bear the name and telephone number of the writer for reasons of verification and validity. The telephone number will not be printed and the name may not be printed if just cause is shown. We reserve the right to edit all letters and opinions for clarity and libel. Letters and opinions may be edited to size. Deadline for all submissions is 4:00 p.m. the Friday before the paper goes to production. The Other Press is a democratically run autonomous student newspaper, published every two weeks during OUR MAILING ADDRESS: The Other Press Box 2503, Douglas College New Westminster, B.C. V3L 5B2 PHONE: 525-3542 The Other Press Douglas College’s Autonomous Student Newspaper the spring and fall semesters under the auspices of The Other Publications Society. Our funding is provided by a direct student levy paid at registration, and through revenue received from local and national advertising. The Other Press is a member of Canadian University Press and of the national advertising cooperative, Campus Plus. The Other Press welcomes new and prospective members to come to our regular staff meetings, held Thursdays at 12:00 noon, and to our production meetings, held every second Monday starting at 4:00 p.m. And yes, we do feed people occasionally. All meetings and goings-on are carried out in room 1602 of the New Westminster campus, down in the dark recesses of the first floor. Please, contribute early and contribute often. Ad Coordinator, «side. ethic. ccdbsaceses