End of Ontario's Tuition Freeze Catches Student Groups Off Guard

Richard Maerov, The Eyeopener (Ryerson University)

TORONTO (CUP)—Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s decision to put an end to the province’s tuition freeze came as a surprise to members of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), who had been

negotiating tuition fees with Ontario government representatives since July. The students left their last meeting on September 14 believing that the options of continuing the tuition freeze and even reducing fees next year were still on the table. “We had no idea this was coming,” said Jesse Greener, Ontario Chairperson of the CFS. “All indica- tions to us and to the general public were that a decision on the continu- ation of the [tuition] freeze would not be reached before the govern- ment had heard all the input from colleges and universities.”

Ryerson Students’ Union vice- president of education, Nora Loreto, called the government’s deci- sion “irresponsible,” and said it was- n't taking the negotiations with stu- dents seriously.

“We are extremely concerned that the consultation process has been a sham from the start,” she said.

Following a meeting Monday with Christopher Bentley, the Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, the CFS said the only options left on the table were a number of ways to increase tuition fees.

“This is hard to swallow,” Greener said.

Bentley said this situation is nothing new. “Our position has been the same for some time. The pre- mier’s comments last week were very similar to ones

he made earlier this year.”

“I’m deeply concerned that the government is moving away from the thought that education is a social right and more towards a market-based deregu- lation scheme seen during the government of Mike Harris,’ Greener said, adding that tuition fees tripled under the Harris government between 1995 and 2002.

Rabail Bangash, a first-year criminal justice student at Ryerson University, is receiving funds from OSAP, but is finding it stressful. “I’ve had to keep working one day a week during my studies and I just don’t have the time. I will probably have to get two jobs over the summer to help pay off my student loans. I stress more about that than I do about school,” said Bangash.

“Tt is not our intention to compromise accessibili- ty,” said Bentley.

“That’s why we took nearly a quarter of the $6.2 billion promised to post-secondary education and ded- icated it specifically to enhance student aid over the next five years.”

Levy insisted that “there has to be financial aid in place to insure that students’ minds are the access points to post-secondary [education]-not students’ pockets.”

A decision on what tuition will look like is expect- ed in December. In the meantime, the RSU will con- tinue moving forward with the campaign to lower tuition fees in coordination with the CFS.

“Tt’s important to maintain our lobbying efforts throughout all the Student Federation locals. Our goal is to be the voice of students to our elected represen- tatives. Unfortunately we will be in the shadow of a fee increase for 2006,” said Greener.

Celebrate National Coming Out Week with the DSU Pride Collective A Message from the DSU Pride Collective

Joel Lindsay Koette, OP Contributor

You may have noticed the green posters with the lesbian couple plastered across campus, and on the back page of last week’s issue of the Other Press, and thought to yourself, “What the hell is Coming Out Day, and why would I want to celebrate?”

Well, my friends, [ll let you in on a little secret: there is a vibrant and thriving queer (or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered) community at Douglas College, and October 11 is our day to be proud of who we are and to welcome, support, and encourage those who are taking their first steps out of the proverbial closet.

National Coming Out Day was originally celebrated in the United States to commemo- rate the 500,000-person march on Washington D.C. for gay and lesbian equality on October 11, 1987. Since then, progressive organizations and grassroots groups have organized events or actions for National Coming Out Day (or in some cases, National Coming Out Week), to educate the public about what it means to be lesbian, gay, bisex-

ual, or transgendered (LGBT).

This year, the DSU Pride Collective has organized a week of events for the Douglas College community, including an anti-homo- phobia workshop; a queer activists’ forum, with MP Libby Davies and activists from the student and labour movement; a queer film series; and a Queer-B-Q! Mmmm! All events are open to everyone in the college communi- ty, so come on out and join the celebration!

The DSU Pride Collective will also be launching the fresh new look of the Positive Space campaign to faculty and staff at the New Westminster and David Lam campuses, so check your mailboxes later this week for posters, stickers and exciting information about how to make our campuses a safer space for the queer community.

For more information about National Coming Out Week events or DSU’s Pride Collective, please call Yasmin Irani at 604.527.5111, or my fabulous self at 604.527.5474. Happy National Coming Out Day!

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