The McGill Tribune Vol. 05 Issue 24

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T H E MCG I L L T R IB U N E Volume 5, Number 24

Published by the Students' Society of McGill University

Wenesday 2 April, 1986

Senate approves Ombudsman, Tables EEGGS by Adeeb Khalid M c G ill w ill soon Have a U niversity O m b u d sm a n . At its m eetin g last W ed n esd ay, Senate passed a motion recom m ending to the Board fo G o v e r­ nors that it appoint "a respected m em ber of the M c G ill facu lty" to this position. Th e debate on the Term s of Reference of the position was, how ever, tabled. These are to be considered at the next m eeting of Senate, and in clu d e the fin an cia l side of the matter. Th e resolution, m oved by Students Senators Robert W ilso n -S m ith and James G ree n , com es as the culm ination of longstanding student dem ands for the appointm ent of a U niversity O m ­ budsm an. Cu rren tly, grievances are heard by the D ean of Students or by the S tu d e n ts' S o c ie ty (StudSoc) O m ­ budsm an. How ever, W ilso n -Sm ith and G reen argued that in their resolution that both of these positions are "v u ln e ra b le to conflict of interest situations." Th e ir resolution calls for the appointm ent of a faculty m em ber w ho has "garnered the acq u ain tan ce and respect of the U nive r­ sity staff and student body" during his or her tenure at M c G ill. Th e issue of the expenses incurred proved co n tro versial. Altho ugh all speakers saw the notion of the O m ­ budsm an as laudable, m any faculty m em bers o f Senate spoke unfavourable of the expenses involved. "It is a laudable m otion but it takes aw ay m oney from a ca d e m ic opera­ tions," D ean of Arts M ichael M axw ell said. "It is im perative that we don't put m ore m oney into adm inistration when w e are so short of m on ey." Student Senators, however, spoke of the a cad e m ic benefits the appointm ent w o u ld p ro vid e . G ra d u a te Senator Ram esh Singal argued that satisfactory g rievance procedure w ould "re lie ve pressure on students, and im prove their acad e m ic perform ance." G ree n spoke of the necessity of ensur­ ing due process of all com plaints. "T he U niversity rarely has the opportunity of doing so m uch good for so little m o n ey," he said. A cco rd in g to the Term s of Reference proposed by the movers of the resol u-

tion, the $10 ,0 0 0 stipend was to be financed jo in tly by the"adm inistration and students, with StudSoc, the various faculty societies, and the M c G ill Association of C o n tinuin g Education Students paying half the cost.

EEGGS Senate also tabled debate on a motion to recognize the Electrical Engineering

G raduate Students' Society (EEGGS) and to receive its constitution. A second m otion asking for the U niversity to c o l­ lect fees for the new society w as also tabled. Th e constitution has been refer­ red to Senate's new ly formed Standing Com m ittee on Student A ssociation C o n ­ stitutions. E E G G S has been trying for som e time now to get the U niversity's recognition. T h e society has been incorporated under Q u é b e c's Bill 32 under w h ich

they started looking into the constitu­ tio n s of e v e ry little 2 0 0 -m e m b e r associatio n," he said. Although the E E G G S representatives had been given speaking rights, the m o­ tion to table was passed before they co u ld be exercised. In other business, Senate received the new StudSoc constitution approved by students in a u niversity-w ide referen­ dum last M onth.

CFRM By-laws Approved By Council

39 Steps frontman, a deathly variation of the Cult, see page 6 Photo — Ezra Greenberg

D issid ent D epicts Life In The USSR by Bilguisse Visram O ce a n ia , Thoughtcrim e, and the Thoughtp olice seem ed synonym ous to life in the Soviet U nio n , as it was described by V la d m ir B ukovsky ad­ dressed the issue of hom an rights, or rather, the lack of hum an rights, in the Soviet U nio n . A Soviet dissident w ho spent m any years in and out of prisons, p sy c h ia tric in stitu tio n s, and e x ile , Bukovsky depicted a social situation w h ich m ade the large a u d ien ce grateful to be C anad ian . "I believe it goes far beyond hum an rights violations; it's exterm ination," said B u ko vsky of the C o m m u n ist governm ent's treatment of civilia n s. He spoke of a "non-free, non-dem ocratic country, w here fear becom es ingrained in the peop le.” Th e hour-long lecture addressed the governm ent's efforts to crush the growth of the hum an rights m ovem ent in the country. Bukovsky told of how Soviet citizens because of the harsh consequences facing p olitical activists in the Soviet U nio n , try desperately to b eleive Soviet propoganda, and to ra­ tio n alize the actions of the C om m unist regim e. H e depicted a population a m o n g s t w h ic h a lc o h o lis m an d sch izo p h ren ia are ram pant, and w hich lives by the motto of "thin k one thing, say another, and do a th ird ." A cco rd in g to Bukovsky, Soviet society is based on co llective irresponsibility. " W e becom e a cco m p lices in the crim es

a n y student group can gain accredita­ tion and the right to have the university co llect its fees. Several Senators spoke against the m otion. Arts Senator M ark W a rn e r was. con cern ed about the precedent the co l­ lection of fees w ould set and its im p lica ­ tions for student solidarity. "T h e group in question is far too sm all for us even to listen to. It w ould be a waste of tim e for both Senate and the Com m ittee (on Student Constitutions) if

of the State, whether w e want to or not. You either becom e involved in mass m urder (the crim es of the State) or be m urdered." B uko vsky's ow n generation was described as one in w h ich silen ce, inactivitiy, and accep tance bred a very strong feeling of c o m p lic ity . Th e ultim ate result was an overw helm ing need to attempt som e change or reform. H en ce, the growth of the hum an rights m ovem ent. Bukovsky pointed ot the Soviet interventions in both H ungary and C ze ch o slo va kia, as statements, not on ly to the outside w orld, but e q ually, to the restless Soviet population. "Yo u cannot appeal to com m on sense or m ercy. T h e y w ill do what they w ant." H e referred constantly to "the terror" w h ich is exercised by the Soviety governm ent, through various scare tac­ tics. Th e use of psychiatric hospitals as political prisons, is amongst the most p o p u la r an d d istre s sin g . " P e o p le w ouldn't m ind losing their lives, but not their m inds." The oppression of the Russian people seemed even m ore futile, w hen Bukov­ sky dism issed the Com m un ist ideology as obsolete, cla im in g that Khrushchev had probablt been the last Soviet leader to really b elieve in C o m m u n ism . A cco r­ d ing to Bukovsky, the Soviet U nion has evolved from a nation based on Socialist ideology, to one based on the ever-present threat of w ar—a threat issued by the governm ent itself.

"It's very frightening. You don't know about the past or the present, but the future is given to y o u ." T h is O rw e llia n tone pervaded Bukovsky's entire lec­ ture, but he closed on a hopeful note, telling of a m eeting he had had, m any years ago, in Paris, with a discouraged Po lish dissident. Th is friend had lost any hope for political reform in his country, o n ly to return to Poland three years late, to find thirty m illio n people m arching under the b anner of Solidarity.

by Brian Todd Students' C o u n cil em phasized the im ­ portance of student representation at the "n e w " Radio M c G ill (CFRM ) when it passed the by-law s of the station last w eek. Said Arts Representative to C o u n cil M aria Lang, in support of her m otions to increase student m em bership on the ex­ ecutive com m ittee of the new station, "It's our duty to tinker with it (the b y­ laws). It's our last ch an ce to m ake sure it represents the interests of students." Lang proposed three am endm ents to the by-law s. Th e first m otion increased the num ber of students-at-large on the Board of Directors from one to three and reduced the num ber of Student C o u n cillo rs to one from two. M edical Rep N e ill W right com m ented in favour of the m otion, "If w e're paying for the station, we should have m ajority co n ­ trol (of the Board of D irectors).” Th e am endm ent w h ich effectively gives students m ajority control of the Board w h ich is "em pow ered to make all decision s and take all actions on b ehalf" of the station, was passed by C o u n c il easily. Lang's second and third am endm ents dealt with the Executive Com m ittee of the station. Th e first am endm ent added a student m em ber to the Executive Com m ittee. An additional clause w ou ld have denied the Executive D irector of the Students" Society (StudSoc) of his vote on the com m ittee. James G re e n , Stud­ Soc President, argued against the m o­ t io n . " T h e E x e c u t iv e D ir e c t o r represents the interests of students." Lang did not, however, agree with this line of reasoning. "From m y vie w ­ point, there's no w ay that he represents students at large." N eill W right echoed this sentim ent, "I don't like the prece­ dent w hereby the Executive D irector of the Students' Society represents the

students." Th e clause den yin g the Ex­ ecutive D irector a vote was defeated but Lang was successful in her attempt to add a student m em ber to the C o m ­ mittee. Th e Executive Com m ittee co n ­ trols the d ay-to -d ay operations of the station. s In her third am endm ent, Lang again tried to stress student representation on th e E x e c u t iv e C o m m it t e e by establishing quorum as three m embers in clu d in g one student. (The Ch airm an and Secretary of the Executive C o m m it­ tee are elected from the Board of D ire c­ tors w h ile the Station M anager, a fu ll­ tim e em ployee, is hired by the Board of Directors.) Ram esh Singal, G rad u ate Senator, supported Lang's m otion but w ished to strengthen it by adding a Student C o u n ­ c illo r to the Executive, a m otion w hich was defeated. Said Singal, "I don't like the idea of non-students controlling the executive." G ree n arguing against the motion sug­ gested that "T h e Board of Directors w ill now be in the m ajority students, if they want students they can elect students to office as Secretary." Lang's m otion was put to a vote w here a tie resulted. Keith D enm an, as C h air, was thus able to vote for the first tim e this year and the m otion was car­ ried. No SIR am endm ent was suggested after current Station M anager MarthaM arie Kleinhans explained, "A lthough it's a good thing and several stations have it, the m ore recently licensed sta­ tions don't. Th e C R T C seems to have sw ung aw ay from this. T h e y have to know that som ething that is set-up is go­ ing to last." C o u n c il lost the requisite tw o-thirds m ajority necessary for approval of the Students' Society by-law s late in the m eeting and they were thus tabled until the next meeting.

Lilienthal Decries Zionism

by Adeeb Khalid "T h e continuous hankering of the m edia over the H olocaust forms a co ver-up over what is going on right now in the M id d le east," said Alfred Lilienthal at M c G ill last W edn esday. " T h e m edia has played incessently on the them e of one of the ugliest episodes of hum an history, but I don't see what that has to do whatsoever with what is happening in the M id d le East now ." Lilienthal, author of "Israel's Flag Is Not M in e" and of the books W hat Price Israel? and The Zion ist C o n n e ctio n , was speaking on "Terrorism in the M iddle East: Th e D o u b le Standard." A Jew him self, Lilien thal was careful to distinguish Judaism from Z io n ism . "B e ­ ing a good Jew does not in volve na-

tionalism for Israel," he said. From this perspective, he offered a historical survey of the current problem . "H isto ry does not support the conten­ tion of (the Zionist) claim to 'their' Palestine," he said, pointing out that ten of the tw elve original tribes of Israel had disappeared. " H o w can one cla im des­ cent from that sm all group? Th e over­ w h elm in g m ajority of the present-day w orld Jewry is descended from Zhazars w ho converted to Ju d aism ," he said, citin g anthropological authority. "Repression and suppression co n ­ tinue in Israeli-o ccup ied territories but we don't hear about it," Lilienthal said. Israel kjlled 385 people in its raid on Beirut in 19 8 1 , m ore than the num ber of casualties it had suffered from Palesti-

nians in the entire period of its ex­ istence, he pointed out. "T h e obnoxious law of the British rule in Palestine, w h ich allow s for a six month arrest without trial, is applied by Israel on the W est Bank." Yet, North A m erican m edia seldom point that out. Instead, we are offered vastly oversim plified pictures of the pro­ blem . " W e all suffer from label-itis,' a disease W estern civiliza tio n m ight fall into," Lilienthal quipped. Con flicts are reduced to b lack-and -w hite im ages. "In the M id d le East, we now have the 'v ic­ tims of the Holocaust' versus the 'ter­ rorists'." " W e must rem ove the word 'terror' from ou r discussion of the M id d le East, continued on page 9


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