MCGILLTRIBUNE Published by the Students' Society of McGill University
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by Jennifer Mori Of the seven motions arising from the Nov. 6, Open Council meeting, five passed with large majorities at last Wednesday's Council meeting. Following heated debate, it was resolved that Council take a position op posing all tuition fee increases to ensure the accessibility of education at M cGill and in the province of Quebec. "The motion cannot be seen in isolation," said Mike Gordon, Daily Coordinating News Editor, given speaking rights for the discussion of the motion. "The mo tion is intended to get Students' Society to take a position on accessibility, not on tuition alone." The Executive maintained that not all tuition increases were barriers to the ac cessibility of education and that Students' Society has always been op posed to tuition fee increases that do. In the debate surrounding the motion, the issue of representation arose; "It is ap parent that we are out of touch with our constituents," said Peter Nixon, Arts Rep. to Council. "Council acted in good faith in the past but it was wrong and it's time that we admitted that." "M y constituents see Council as being out to lunch on the issue," corroborated Randy Flemings, Arts Senator. Council wrangled for twenty minutes over a motion to postpone the proposal to hold General Assemblies on a regular basis until the next Council meeting where it w ill be introduced as part of a constitution amendments package, since holding General Assemblies would re quire amendments to the Studsoc constititon. The motion to hold a general assembly in three weeks was defeated. Council voted almost unanimously to consider the Ste. Thérèse loans and bur saries platform during the reform for mulation of loans and bursaries policy. Ian Brodie, SSMU VP External, invited submissions from any member of the
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Society on any aspect of the loans and bursaries policy. The motions to ratify Student Services fees by referendum and to hold a spring referendum to re-affirm Students' Society position on the athletics complex passed with clear majorities as did the motion to put the tuition fees question on the same spring referendum. Several executive members also presented reports to Council. The VP Ex ternal's Third Report to Council reported the discussion of municipal concerns such as crosswalks, student housing, violence in the Ghetto, public transpor tation, and the Athletics complex with John Gardiner, City Councillor for District 40 (Ville Marie). Two motions, one to join a coalition of Quebec universities and another to con tradict ANEQ's stance as a spokesman for all Quebec universities, were tabled until the next Council meeting. The Joint Management Committee's Third Report to Council outlined the committee's spending decisions over the past few months. There was some debate over JMC's decision to refuse a request of $5000 to the PGSS to fund an air-conditioning system for the Thomp son House ballroom. It was pointed out by Rick Chance, VP Finance that PGSS could fund the ballroom air conditioning by raising its beer prices 104 to the same price that the Union charges. Paul Pickersgill, SSMU President, pointed out that Students' Society does not have the money to fund the proposal, that Thompson House is accessible to only one-third of all M cGill Students, and that there is a trust fund at Thompson House to deal with renovations. Other Council business included the approval of the Executive Committee report to Council, the amendment of Students' Society By-Laws, and the nomination of Gary Saxe, Social Work rep. to the Chair of Access M cGill.
At the November 6 meeting of ASUS, Scrivener Editor Andrew Burgess was asked by ASUS to form a committee to examine the status of the Observer. Also hard hit was the M cGill Literary Journal Rubicon. As a result of the budget cuts, Rubicon w ill see a $3,000 decrease in its allocation from ASUS this fiscal year. Peter O'Brien, editor of the journal, made a plea before the Council seeking more funds. Brown, speaking for the ASUS Finance Committee, noted that although they considered Rubicon to be a worthy pro ject, he could not justify the expense. Brown noted that Rubicon had only six undergraduate contributors in the last issue and that the journal was seeking to
Photo — S. Co/vey
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Left to right: Joseph Cazart, Stephan Zarov, Joel Miller, Rob Roy, Robert Parson, Harry Standjofski. See pages 4 & 5 for The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus and cover story.
Senate Considers Residence Squeeze by Janet Mitchell A special sub-committee appointed to consider a new residence admission policy met on Friday in a meeting closed to the press and public. The committee was formed in response to an increasing need for more residence space, particularly for first-
ASUS Budget Slashes Painful by Michèle Dupuis The full implications of last year's Arts and Science Undergraduate Society's o v e r- e x p e n d itu re h av e f in a lly manifested themselves. This year's Vice President Finan ce, W ard Brow n, presented the proposed expenditures of the ASUS to ASUS Council last Tuesday. These included a $23,650 debt payment figure in the first semester. Brown stated that "it is imperative that the debt be paid off" as soon as possible and that "the places to make cuts " were in those areas in which the ASUS has the "least strong commitments." Brown presented an austere budget in order to compensate for last year's budgetary overruns. Last year's ASUS spending was set at $122,454, accor ding to figures cited by Brown at the vmeeting. This year's expenditures have been set at approximately $92,000, a figure which includes the $23,000 debt payment. Cuts have been made right across the board. Programming for this year has been given a budget of $8,500 — a decrease of approximately 80% from last year's expenditure. Money for cam pus groups and activities has been cut by approximately $12,000 — allowing a $3,000 budget for this year. "The money has to be cut; I think that they can survive," said Brown. Also hit hard by the cuts will be the various M cGill Journals, in particular the Observer — the ASUS publication. The journal was given no operating budget this year while last year the publication of one issue cost Arts and Science students $5,681. "This doesn't totally write off the Observer — there may be a miniObserver for event w eek," said Brown.
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accommodate a national audience. He could not see his way clear to providing Rubicon with half the approximate $11,000 budget allocation for journals. Brown suggested that the journal look elsewhere for funds. O 'Brien defended the need io r Rubicon at M cGill stating that it is "at the fore-front” of literature and that M cGill needs to maintain its historical status as a major literary force. In other Council business, ASUS con sidered the motions discussed at the open council meeting two weeks ago. ASUS voted in support of the meeting's motion that recommends that Studsoc oppose all tuition fee increases in order continued on page 7
Demonstrators Arrested At DND by Marc Wills Nearly 60 people, blocking the entrance doors to the Department of Na tional Defense as a protest against a proposed NATO base in Labrador, were arrested by Ottawa police last Wednesday morning. The 58 demonstrators were charged with mischief and causing a distur bance and released the same day. The protest took place the day after Remem brance Day as'Defense personnel and civil servants were returning to work. The protestors were objecting to low-level flight testing undertaken by the Canadian military at Goose Bay, Labrador since 197-9. Opponents to these tests argue that they are harmful to the health and traditional lifestyle of the Innu Natives who live there. In 1985, 5000 low-altitude flights were carried out by Canadian, German, and British pilots over Labrador and northern Quebec. While NATO will decide in December whether it will establish a new $500 million jet training base at Goose Bay or in Konya, Turkey, a federal govern ment environmental impact report on the effects of the proposed base will not be released until the spring of 1988. Last Wednesday's protest, involving groups from Montreal, Toronto, Kingston and Ottawa, was also directed against Cruise missile testing in nor thern Alberta, submarine weapons testing at Nanoose Bay, B.C., and potential Canadian involvement with the American Star Wars program.
year students. At the last council meeting Vice-Principal Freedman sug gested that only first-year students be ad mitted, but this was met with opposition. Grace Ann Baker, Vice President (University Affairs), said that Freedman's su g g e stio n is b e in g " a c t i v e ly addressed," but she rejects it as a viable solution. She noted that other Univer sities, such as the University of British Columbia and Western University, have a distinct policy concerning residence admission. "M cG ill has to have a policy," she said, but asserted that ad mitting first-year students exclusively is not the answer. The President of the Inter-Residence Council, Scott Blanchette, also objected to the proposal. He said that keeping older students out would "destroy the whole flavor of the residences." He stressed that the interaction between older and younger students is beneficial for both, since the older students help the freshmen to get acquainted with university and city life. Both expressed concern for the incom ing first-year student who cannot obtain a place in residence. Many students are refusing admission to M cGill because they cannot get into residence. Baker suggested that alternative hous ing in the university area is the most reasonable solution to the problem. Although there is vacant land beside the McConnell Residence, she said, this is considered park land and it would be difficult to obtain city permission to build on it. Blanchette believes the real problem lies in the lack of formal studies available on the Residence question. He said that it is hard to obtain actual statistics to indicate the extent of the pro blem. The ideal solution, said Blanchette, would be for the existing residences to
remain unchanged and for the university to buy 625 Milton. This building is in a perfect position, (right beside the Milton Gates) for students who want to live in a residence atmosphere without the residence meal plan. V ic e - P r in c ip a l Fre ed m an w as unavailable for an interview after the meeting on Friday; however, the Tribune spoke with Dean of Students, Ir win Gopnik, who is also on the commit tee. Gopnik emphasized that Friday's discussion was a "working meeting on ly ." When asked about the possibility of restricting residepce to first-year students Gopnik stated, "there w ill not be a policy that says first-year students only, but there w ill be a policy that limits the number • of returning students in residence." He said that a certain percentage of returning students in residence." He said that a certain percentage of returning students would probably be admitted but the criteria for implementing the policy has yet to be decided. Baker commented that the meeting suggested some viable alternatives which prove that the university is look ing into the problem. She said M cGill i l looking into leasing some apartment blocks on Ste. Famille St., which could be rented to students only at economical rates. She also stated that the restriction of returning students in the existing residences, if implemented, would be a gradual process over the next three years. According to Baker, no real decision w ill be made until a report is presented to the Senate Standing Committee on Residences. This committee should be meeting soon, she said, so that the residence office can start replying to ap plications for residence for the next academic year.
,, i Develop your interest in developing Q countries...page 6. 35 McGill played the greatest...and lost. See page 7.