The McGill Tribune Vol. 14 Issue 6

Page 1

Published by the Students’ Society of McGill University

October 12 th, 1994

News Concern over Axw orthy proposals cause S S M U to speed process of joining national student association. Page 3

y e * * * 1* * Hailed as the drug to solve all the w orld ’s problems, is Prozac all that it is cracked up to be? Page 9

Editorial Th e Supreme Court of Canada created a danger­ ous grey area in the legal system last week. Page 6

ENTERTAINMENT Sinéad as you ’ve never seen her before. Page 11

SPORTS Redbirds come out on top in university base­ ball. Football sinking fast to the bottom. Page 15

Columnists P. Shah................... Page 10 G . G ibson.................. Page 7 M . L u z ........................ Page 7

Departm ents Crossword................. Page 5 Observer..................... Page 5 W hat’s O n ..............Page 19

McGILL © 1->NIGHTLINE 598-6246 A confidential information listening, and referral service. For students, by students. Open 9p.m. to 3a.m.

In Dom ino Confido

A x w o r t h y p r o p o s a ls fo r e d u c a tio n a l fin a n c in g ra is e stu d e n t c o n c e rn s By M

ic h a e l

B r o ad h u r st

A discussion paper released last w e ek b y fe d e ra l H u m a n R e so u rce s M in is t e r L lo y d A x w o r t h y c o u ld m ean tu itio n fees for university students w ill increase by as much as 300 per­ cent in the next three years. Th e report, Im proving Social Se cu rity in Canada, outlines a federal governm ent proposal to replace the current educational transfer payments with a compre­ hensive system of student loans. Federal transfer payments to the provincial ministries of education c u rre n tly stand at $2.3 b illio n annually. A x w o rth y ’s plan calls for the government to replace the current Post-Secondary Education trans­ fe r p a y m e n t w ith a “ s u ita b ly d e s ig n e d in co m e c o n tin g e n t re p a ym e n t loans p la n [th a t] m ight provide up to four dollars in loans for every dollar of cash the federal government puts into it.” In c o m e C o n tin g e n t R e p a ym e n t Plans re qu ire stu­ dents to repay their loans through the federal tax system based on th e ir in co m e le v e l. A student with a high-paying job would pay back their loan in a re la tive ly short period of time, while a per­ son w ith a lower income would repay the loan over a longer time period. Th e governm ent’ s proposal suggests that access to h ig h e r education w ill not be affected by this plan, because access to the proposed loan program would not require students to prove “ need” for funding. The current provinc ia lly -b a s e d loans p ro g ra m assesses students on the basis of financial need. A x w o rth y ’s p la n also promises that any financial assis­ tance p ro g ra m created b y the reorganisation of the social secu­ rity system in Canada w ill be in addition to the $1 billion already dedicated to student loan p ro ­ grams.

But G u y Caron, president of the C a n a d ia n F e d e ra tio n o f Students, said the m ove b y the government would restrict access to po st-se co n d a ry educational institutions. “ It has been described by M r. A x w o rth y as a progressive m easure, but we th in k, on the contrary, it ’ s a very regressive m ove,” he said. A cco rd in g to a confidential memo leaked to the Toronto Star, officials from the federal govern­ m ent e xp e ct tu itio n fees in Canada to double in 1996-97, the first year of operation for the pro­ posed plan. In a m em o sent b y Claude La je u n e s s e , p re sid e n t o f the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, to its mem­ bers, Lajeunesse suggests that the effects of an IC R loan program might be far greater than the gov­ ernment thinks. “ B y o u r c a lc u la tio n s ... tu itio n fee increases o f up to $ 3 ,00 0 per student have to be contemplated. T h is is based on the amount of funds being pulled from the system and an assump­ tion that the provinces would not m e re ly ab so rb the cuts but instead would react by allowing the universities to recoup these funds through tuition,” the memo said. “ W e pointed out that while it is not possible to determine the p o in t at w h ic h tu itio n fees become a deterrent to access, a $3,000 increase in fees (hence reaching $6,000 in some jurisdic­ tions) would certainly be seen as going well beyond the acceptable lim it — at the very least, students would see it as a major barrier to access.” B ill D obie, president of the A lm a M a te r S o c ie ty at U niversity of British Colum bia, said that students across the c o u n try sh o u ld be co n ce rn e d with A x w o rth y’s proposal. “ W e ’re concerned about it — we w il l try to educate our See A x w o rth y Page 2

Volum e 14 Issue 6

The Lizard King in action...

T h e J e su s L iz a r d b r in g d o w n th e s h o w B y H a r r is N e w m a n

The Jesus Lizard are a damn fine band. Having arisen from the remains of Austin band Scratch A c id , the Jesus L iz a rd have spawned endless im itators. Th e y ’ve got numerous world tours and six releases (w ith at least as m any singles) on T o u c h & G o Records, not to mention living leg­ end status under their belts. They play rock music — not wuntoothreefore punk rock, but the heavy duty stuff, the kind of music that makes people scream out loud and drum w ith their feet really lo u d ly w h ile liste n in g to their walkman in boring lectures. Their live shows, like the one they played Wednesday October

A ll Canadian U n d e rg ra d u a te s are a u to m a tic a lly covered by th e

S tu d e n t H e a lth P la n P ick up an in fo b ro ch u re a t th e SSM U o ffice fo r m ore d e ta ils

If y o u a r e c o v e r e d

5th at Cafe Cam pus, keep you glued to the action — the virtuoso m usicianship of d rum m er M ac M cNeilly, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist D a vid W m . Sims is both enthralling and exhausting to watch. A n d then there’s frontman David Yow . Whether he’s demon­ strating his E d G rim le y inspired dancing sk ills, being throw n through the surging crowd (looking very much like a cross between a fetal pig and Robin W illiam s) or demonstrating stupid penis tricks, he never misses a word or a beat. The Tribune spoke with a sur­ prisingly gentlemanly and sober Y o w prior to their Montréal show. See Lizard Page 11 b y a n o t h e r p r iv a te

h e a lt h c a r e p la n , y o u m a y o p t o u t o f th is p r o g r a m . D E A D L IN E : O C T O B E R N o tic e : T h e S S M U

14,

1 9 9 4

w il l b e d e l i b e r a t i n g

o n a p ro p o s a l t o e n h a n c e th is p r o g r a m s u b s t a n t ia lly . A n y c h a n g e s t o t h e b e n e f i t s t r u c t u r e w ill b e a d v e r t i s e d th e T rib u n e .

in


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