Gaza Strip

By J. Sinclair

On Thursday, January 28, the
Society for the Humanities offered
a film and discussion on the situa-
tion in the refugee camps in the Is-
raeli-occupied Gaza Strip. Only
half the film was seen, due to a
shortage of time; but in that half, the
history of the Israeli occupation,
which dates from 1948, was evoked
through images and interviews.

The Palestinian refugee camp
dwellers, interviewed in their one
room homes, or on the street beside
their tents, spoke of violations of in-
ternational law. They described the
wrecking of houses in retaliation
for the activities of one family
member, the imposition of curfews,
the daily surveillance of I.D. passes
and work permits. They spoke with
anger and sorrow for relatives and
{friends who were incarcerated for
resisting the Israeli regime.

Footage of bulldozers smashing
down houses and widening streets,
while children huddled among the
family possessions in a heap by the
roadside, or under a tent, gave
graphic testimony to the
Palestinians’ words. Images of

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wreckage. dust and depression per-
vaded the film.

Also shown were clips of inter-
views with Israeli officials, who

spoke of “peaceful co-existence’,
with the Arabs" and repeated the:

now familiar line of "necessary,
force;" these officials stressed the
restraint of the Israeli troops, and
lauded the far- sightedness of their
own policies.

The discussion that followed the
film ranged from the historical
reasons for the situationa in Gaza.
to the international implications of
Israel’s actions, and the actions of
the Palestinians.. Most people
present seemed to favour handing
Gaza back to the Palestinians, al-
though one person, recently living
in Gaza, was angry at the Israeli
presence in the Mid-East. He
pointed out that the Mid-East na-
tions had been forced to deal with
European problems.

That the Palestinians need to
arouse western liberal sympathy.
traditionally reserved for the Is-
raelis. was a point brought up:
another was the strained nature of
Palestinian-Arab relations and the
political and economic reasons for

 

that strain. It was also pointed out
that the Arab states rely on the U.S.
oil market, and do not with to
alienate the U.S. by coming down
too hard on the Israelis.

What seemed to be the general
agreement was the fact that Israel
acts in the best interests of the U.S.
It was pointed out that 60% of U.S.
foreign aid goes to Israel - that is,
$5.000 per year for every Israeli.
This being the case, the reasons for
the continued occupation of Pales-
tinian land can be looked for a lot
closer to hame than Gaza.

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Council's
Demands

Letter to Bill Day
Re: Student Rally

The students’ understanding of
your committments are as follows:

1. There will be re-considerations
by the negotiating team rearding
the decision not to allow a student ob-
server at negotiations.

2. You are willing to speak at an
open forum of students, on the is-
sues of the negotiations.

3. “Depending on what the funds
are", you are willing to _ assist us in
pressuring the Government for more
educational _ funding.

4. With data. you will speak to
the Senate to discuss financial
priorities at the College.

Your patience and genuine attempt
to answer questions was much ap-
preciated.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Anena Johnston
Student Council President

Student
concerns

Mr. Day,

The dispute between faculty and
the College has us worried. We are
concerned that the dispute may jeop-
ardize our chances of finishing the
semester with good grades.

As a group we have boycotted class
today as a means of bringing to your
attention the seriousness of our con-
cerns. Our message to you is this:

We understand that the College
demands to change hiring procedures
is the main item in the dispute between
the College and the teachers. Since we
believe Douglas College has excellent |
teachers, current hiring methods for
teachers at Douglas College can’t be
that bad. To settle this dispute you
should drop your demands.

Other classes and groups of stu-
dents plan to take similar action to
convince you that this dispute must be
settled quickly.

Class Number: Math 421

Date: Feb 23/88

Admin Responds

To: Anena Johnston, President.
DCSS

Re: DKFA and college negotia-
tions

. I am writing in response to your
memorandum to Bill Day dated
February 19, 1988, with particular

reference to item |--the question of —

a student observer at negotiations.

The matter has been reviewed
by the College negotiating team.
and by the Douglas College Board.
Both the negotiating team and the
Board have reaffirmed their posi-
tion, as communicated to you in
January.

Open Letter

This is areminder to Mr. William
Day of his speech on page one of the
1987-88 Douglas College Calendar:

In your speech to DC students
you stated that after a complete
major self-study and visit by a crew
team of reps of other post secondary
institutions in B.C. and Alberta,
Douglas College is especially noted
for the high esteem in which it is
held by the public at large in its
region and by its own students. This
kind of reputation is not built over-
night. It is the product of years of
consistent, high quality work on the
part of your instructor who help you
learn, and our staff, who provide you
with services. You can each be con-
fident that Douglas will continue to
live up to its reputation.”

Dear Mr. Day:

Are you willing to contradict
your own speech by not willing to
negotiate some sort of agreement

with faculty?

While it is viewed as inap-
propriate to have a Student Society
observer at negotiations with the-
DKFA, the College is prepared to
provide to the Student Society a
copy of documents articulating the
College's positions at the bargain-
ing table, once they have been for-
mally tabled with the DKFA.

The negotiating team would, as
well, be prepared to meet with the
Student Society Executive to
answer questions relevant to any
proposal laid before the DKFA.

Ross Cameron, Director,
Personnel and Labour
Relations

To Bill Day

You stated to us "you are a stu-
dent at an excellent school”. I feel
we all are at an excellent college and
we would like our education to con-
tinue to reflect that belief.

Are you willing to destroy and
take apart what Douglas College
members and students have worked
to hard to achieve? Over the years.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it
was destroyed overnight. We don’t
want to see that happen to Douglas
College. We want good quality
education.

We. the students, ask you to be
humane and to try to negotiate an
agreement with faculty. After all, we-
the students are paying cash forthe. _
survival of the: college. our educa-

tion, administrative staff and its ~

faculty too.
Yours truly
L.C. Di Marco