NEWS We Are Forgiven! Maybe opnewseditor@gmail.com Liberal Government doubles tuition fees, offers “forgiveness” Nicole Burton, News Editor | ..and forgiveth me my student loans... Last week, the BC Liberal government proudly announced that 25,000 post-secondary students in BC will have some of their student debt forgiven. Funded by the province and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, a “loan reduc- tion program” has been devised which reduces stu- dent debt at the end of each year of study. The program’s first batch of students was signed up for the 2004—2005 school year, and finished the pro- gram at the end of August. Of the 24,744 students involved, the average amount of debt reduction was around $2,000. Through the program, students who enrolled have the opportunity to apply to have those loans number of dependents. “By tying performance to loan reduction, we give students another incentive to succeed in their studies," Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell said in a statement last week. Coming from the BC Liberal Government, the announcement is a surprise for most of BC’s col- lege and university students, who have seen tuition fees increase, on average, by 100 percent—some, like Vancouver Community College, have seen pro- took power in 2001. For many, it is a development that doesn’t reflect the overall shift of increased tuition fees for students across BC and Canada. The Other Press asked some students at reduced, based on different factors like income and gram costs jump by 500 percent—since the Liberals Douglas College what they thought about the devel- opment. “Ok. That’s cool that a lot of students got it reduced. But the rest [of students] are still getting screwed,” said Ryan, a criminology student at Douglas. “If the government wants to help stu- dents, why didn’t they just leave tuition fees at the level they were at [in 2001]?” Regardless of our suspicious student-senses, the benevolent Liberals see this as an opportunity to help poor and working people. “We’re forgiving loans for students with children, and students from low-income families who must borrow more to reach their goals,” Coell said. “If they’re so concerned with low-income stu- dents or single mothers, maybe someone should remind that guy [Minister Murrey Coell] that the Liberals stopped funding for BC Women’s Centres, and ruined a lot of people’s access to welfare,” said Asha, a Douglas student in General Studies. Students can check their B.C. student loan balances at www.bcslservicebureau.com. More information on student financial assistance is available at www.bcsap.be.ca. September 24 international Day of Action Half a million march against occupation of Iraq Nicole Burton, News Editor In one of the biggest anti-war mobilizations since 2003, hundreds of thousands of protestors hit the streets on September 24, 2005, for an international day of action against the occupation of Iraq. Cindy Sheehan was among those who spoke to a crowd of more than 300,000 outside of the White House on the day. As the mother of Casey Sheehan, a US soldier who was killed in Iraq last year, she said, “T don’t want President Bush to use my son’s name or my family name to justify any more killing.... I want to tell him that the only way to honour my son’s sacrifice is to bring the troops home now.” Last summer, Cindy set up the historic Camp Casey outside of the Bush family ranch in Crawford, Texas, drawing international media attention and criticisms for the ongoing quagmire of occupation in Iraq that has now claimed the lives of over 2,000 US soldiers. Momentum for September 24 anti-war rallies began building in the summer, with a series of political blows to the Bush administration in Iraq and at home. Camp Casey coincided with some of the highest levels of anti-occupation resistance in Iraq ever recorded—from strikes of Iraqi workers in the US—controlled oil indus- try to increased attacks on occupation soldiers, with record-high casualties. This, combined with the complete catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, which left thou- sands dead or wounded, was enough to turn a majority of people in the US publicly against the occupation of Iraq. Support for the US occupation in Iraq fell drasti- cally—with more than 60 percent calling for troop withdrawal from Iraq within the next six months. Bush’s approval rating has now fallen under 40 percent. Across the United States and Canada, more than 210 cities took part in rallies and protests to make that sentiment more visible, including here in BC. More than 900 protesters gathered in downtown Vancouver on the weekend to hear speeches from student organizers, Vietnam veterans, and Vancouver city counselor Tim Louis. For ten minutes, the rally stood completely silent to listen to Kyle Snyder, a 22-year-old ex-soldier who was stationed in Iraq earlier this year. Last spring, Snyder became one of more than 6,000 US soldiers in Iraq who have gone AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave), and came to Canada as a war resister seeking refugee status against persecution in the US for refusing to fight. He is now the latest in 15 war resisters who have made their cases public in Canada.