CFS Not Standing for Deceptive New Seats

Brandon Ferguson, News Editor

The BC Liberals are running self-congratulato- ry ads on television, boasting about the 25,000 post-secondary seats they will be adding by 2010. How very swell.

But a problem exists in that the Liberals have once again made promises that fall well beyond their mandate—a provincial election will be held in 2005. Much like the RAV line, funding for the promise lays mostly in future budgets that have not yet been conceived. More importantly, they may not be budgets decided on by a Liberal government.

The funding is supposed to come from the $105 million that has been dedicated to improving post-secondary schooling. The same treasure chest is responsible for the announced 1500-seat addition to Douglas College by 2010. One wonders if the funds will be able to cover the 25,000 seats to be added throughout the province.

The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS)—who have been outspoken critics of this political posturing that puts students on a

pedestal as if we’ve been saved— believes the ads and the seat additions are misleading.

Scott Payne of the CFS sees two problems with the govern- ment’s position: it creates the allusion that everything is fine with the stu- dents of this province and it makes a “blatantly false” promise of 25,000 seats. “We’ve had three years in a row with record increases in tuition, we’ve had our student grants removed, students are scrambling to make ends meet—things are not okay.”

During the 90s, BC saw 45,000 seats added without gargantuan increases in tuition, so the Liberals’ boasting after the largest consecutive tuition hikes in provincial history rings a little hollow.

The CFS also finds the advertisement mis- leading in how the seats would be funded. “Those seats are no use unless they’re fully funded,” Payne said, “but those seats will be funded by tuition fees.”

If the government wishes to champion students’ rights, ironically, measures of good faith are in accordance. The grants program that was disbanded should be reinstated and the promised seats should be instituted imme- diately with full funding, Oh, and Id like a fast cart too, please.

Asked if he feels nothing but utter rage and blind fury over these government tactics, Payne sighed and said: “No, but I’m not sur- prised.”

“T think it’s smart PR and they’re good at it,’ he said. “I just think it’s disingenuous.”

Payne added: “It just makes our job at CFS and the job of all the student unions that much more important to ensure that students are seeing the alternate story.”

International Students One Step Closer to Power

Proposed amendment to University Act gains high-level support

Stephen Thomson The Peak, Simon Fraser University

BURNABY, B.C. (CUP)—International students are one step closer to being able to take part in the highest level of decision making in British Columbia.

In order to make this possible, the University Presidents’ Council, which represents five public universities, including Simon Fraser University, wants to amend the province’s University Act.

Currently, the Act does not allow international students to stand for election to a university's board of governors. But in a move towards eventually changing this, SFU’s board voted July 22 to support the Presidents’ Council’s plan to lobby the provincial government to amend the law.

John Waterhouse, SFU’s vice president of academics, said that the board acted in response to concerns raised by university’s senate and student union that it is “not just or equitable to preclude international students from the board of governors.”

Chris Giacomantonio, one of two student representatives on the board, expressed unequivocal support for the decision.

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“T think it’s relatively simple. International students are students at the university; it’s their community as much as anyone else’s,” he said.

Shawn Hunsdale, the other student representative, agreed. “Basically, the university is becoming increasingly dependent on inter- national students as part of their revenue,” he said. “So, I think that it’s important that these students be represented more within the running of the university.”

For Clement Apaak, who has been studying at SFU since 2001, rep- resentation on the board is not the only pressing issue for international students such as himself. Higher fees than domestic students and restrictions from working off-campus are also of concern.

“The fact is that the board of governors is the highest decision- making body when it comes to issues pertaining to how much it’s going to cost you for your education,” Apaak said over the phone from San Diego. “Therefore, it is only appropriate that we should be able to be part of the body that determines how much we pay.” Besides being an outspoken advocate for international students, Apaak has attempted to run for SFU’s board three times. On each occasion, he had to withdraw his candidacy because of the University Act. But, with the backing of groups such as the Presidents’ Council, as well as SFU’s board of gov- ernors, senate and student union, not to mention many politicians, Apaak is confident he will see a fourth run for the board through to voting,

“In a nutshell, we have the support of all the major players when it comes to what it takes to change the University Act.”