gMFGILL TRIBUNE National names on McGill Speakers Schedule
Vol. 1, No. 2 September 24,1981
G R E Y M c G IL L Do you consider yourself to be a mature student? There's a one in ten chance that McGill doesn't agree with you, no matter how advanced your character development may be. McGill, and most other universities, have designated the term "Mature Student" as a reference to those freshman students who are at least 23 years of age. At present, this group comprises approximately ten per cent of M cG ill's full-tim e student population. The Mature Student's Association — (MSA) of McGill is a relatively young organization, having been formed only two years ago. While the membership of the Association is currently fairly small as compared its potential size, the 1981-82 executive is very keenly expansion-minded. President Jim Cornell, Vice-President Bruce Wright, Secretary Anne Wordrop, and Treasurer Nancy Martin, feel that the successful future of the organization lies in responding to the needs of as many mature students as possible, and in aiming the association to evolve in whatever direction those needs dictate. It is generally agreed that mature students, while encoutering many of the same academic problems as other students, have a significantly different outlook on the university experience. While many mature students are physically indistinguishable from the average, there are many whose formal
The speakers Committee of the new Program Board has scheduled a variety of speakers, conferences, and mini conferences 'for the 1981-1982 school year. The Speakers Committee is trying to book a "big name" speaker for November, although neither the issue nor the V.I.P. has beendetermined at this point. A two-day mini-conference on the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) Security Service is planned for the beginning of November. Expected speakers include Mr. John Starnes, Director General of the old Security Service who is generally considered responsible for wiretapping and other assorted activities of the Service. The Chairman of the new Security Service, and perhaps Mr. Justice McDonald, who ran the Commission of Enquiry Concerning Certain Activities of the RCMP, will also be included.
According to Bruce Hicks, chairman of the Speakers Committee, the main issues that will be discussed are the following: Does a Security Service have to go outside the law in order to function? What should be done about RCMP wrongdoings? What form will the new Security Service take? "These questions were raised in 1970, and still have not been resolved. These issues must be addressed by someone," says Hicks. At the end of February, a huge conference is planned. It will be en titled "Where Do We Go from Here? The Next Two Years of FederalProvincial Changes". The Committee considers this project the highlight of the year's events. The conference will be concerned with the federal-provincial policies which must be negotiated by April 1st. The jnajor issue with which the conference will be concerned is the recent leak of a Cabinet document asking that the federal government cut eleven billion dollars from provincial coffers. This is money that was ear marked for educational purposes, but was used for services such as road improvement. The conference is scheduled to take place while the federal government is drawing up a new fiscal arrangement. Among the speakers who will appear at McGill at that time are:
S tu d e n t s ' S o c i e t y o f M c G il l U n i v e r s i t y
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What’s the Rush M c G ill
The H onourable Jean Chrétien, M P, will spe ak at M c G ill this year. He will be one of m any well known
figures spo n so red Program Board.
The Honourable Jean Chretien, Minister of and Attorney General of Canada, Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Social Planning, and The Honourable Brian Peckford, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. Also expected are the Honourable Rene Levesque, Prime Minister of Quebec, and the Honourable Peter Lougheed, Premier of Alberta. The conference will last five days, from February 15 to February 19. Says Hicks, 'This is the first opportunity, and perhaps the only opportunity where the federal and
provincial negotiators will be brought together in an open forum. The timing could not be better for McGill or the provinces. The federal gouvernment has refused to discuss federalprovincial fiscal arrangements in the past, and this may be its only op portunity to do so." Any students interested in helping out on these and other speakers committee projects should go see Bruce Hicks in the Program Board office, B07 in the Union Building, or call 392-8976. Volunteers will be welcomed with enthusiasm.
In the United States, the exact function of fraternities and sororities needs no explanation. This is as much due to their role being clearly evident as it is due to the simple longevity of these clubs. They have been in existence, in many cases, for over one hundred years. In Canada, however, the word sorority conjures up visions of tea drinking girls in silk stockings, while the word fraternity brings to mind the lecherous lushes of the movie "Animal House." It is these stereotypes, and the great lack of information about the fraternity system, which fraternity members confront each fall during what they call "Rush". (continued on page 2)