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Douglas College holds vigil to commemorate the 20" anniversary of the Montreal Massacre

Special guest, New Westminster MLA Dawn Black, advocates stopping violence against women

By Tanya Colledge, Staff Reporter

“The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is a day not only to remember the 14 women who tragically died on December, 1989,

but all the women across Canada who are victims of violence,” said New Westminster MLA Dawn Black at a vigil held at Douglas College’s New Westminster campus on December 3. The commemorative ceremony marked the 20" anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, the horrific day on which 14 women at l’Ecole Polytechnique University were killed when a gunman opened fire and targeted specifically the female students.

“T feel emotional and somewhat drained, and we should be,” said Black who first introduced the bill to Parliament to make December 6 a permanent national day of remembrance for violence against women in 1991. Black explained that at the time of the massacre, the media refused to accept the horrific incident for what it was—a crime against women. It was this blunt rejection to recognize the act for what it was that spurred Black into action to ensure that the lives lost that day would not be in vain.

“Tt is critical for colleges and universities to recognize what happened that day,” said Douglas College President Dr. Scott McAlpine at the event. “This was a deliberate act of violence against women, but it is also important that we remember all forms of violence, and it is nice to see so many students, administration, faculty and staff paying their respects to those violently murdered that day.”

The vigil presented a video by Christine McDowell, educating the members of the audience not only on the history and meaning behind December 6, but also on helping the dialogue about the women’s movement in Vancouver and the hundreds of lives lost every year due to violence. The video was followed by a white rose ceremony to remember the deaths of the 14 female students at l’Ecole Polytechnique.

Statistics show that every week in Canada, a woman is murdered by a boyfriend or spouse and that just over half of Canadian women (51 per cent) have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16.

“To eliminate violence against women

in Canada is still something we must care about and work to eradicate,” said Black. “We all have a sister, a mother, an aunt that we care about. And even though young women today have more opportunities, they are still at risk.”

Black explained that violence against

women is political issue and that it will take politics to bring forward new programs and initiatives to help break the cycle. “We must tell our government that we want and expect change,” said Black. “[Because] fighting equality is like doing the dishes—you have to do it every day.”

Blake Frederick

UBC files complaint to UN against

rising tuition costs

Complaint lands student politicians in hot water

By Tanya Colledge, Staff Reporter

ust over a week after the University of

British Columbia’s Alma Mater Society

lodged a complaint against the United Nations regarding tuition costs, AMS President Blake Frederick and VP External Tim Chu have been asked to resign due to a failure to consult students before the official objection had been made.

The complaint claims that Canada and B.C. are in violation of an international covenant signed in 1976 by failing to adequately control tuition fees and not providing sufficient financial support to students. The AMS student council voted unanimously at an emergency meeting on November 28 to officially retract

| the complaint to the UN and ask for the | resignations of Frederick and Chu. The two | members of AMS in question, however,

say they refuse to step down from their positions and will continue to advocate and take a stand against increasing tuition rates. At a news conference held on November 26, Katria Pacey, Pivot Legal Society’s counsel for the AMS, said that tuition increases were also seen in the ’80s and °90s and were responded to in 1996 by the provincial government passing a legislation that froze tuition until 2002. “When fees were frozen,” Pacey said, “We saw a regaining of access for students who might not otherwise have had access

to university and colleges.” But a change

in government in 2001 led to a lifting of

the tuition freeze, giving control back to universities that took advantage by doubling undergraduate fees and raising graduate fees by 184 per cent.

The rises in tuition have resulted in students from low-income families being unable to afford to attend universities or colleges. Pacey said that the only way to make tuition more affordable is for the government to take back control and increase grants to universities “so the institutions themselves don’t have to rely on students to pay the overhead and cost of administering post secondary education.”

With the average debt of B.C. students estimated at $27,000—the highest in the country—UBC’s complaint seems fully justified to some students, while others find it shameful that the AMS would suggest such a matter as a violation of human rights.

Chu and Frederick sent a formal apology to the AMS Council and the media on December 1 for not properly consulting with the council and the students before filing the complaint with the UN, but stated they will not be resigning and will continue to fight to bring fair and affordable tuition to all students.

UBC’s student union’s governing council will meet again on December 7 in the hopes of resolving the issue.