Tuition increase for out-ofprovince students McGill students vote to support strike on November 20 By N o a h G
it t e r m a n
McGill undergraduate students voted over whelmingly in support of a strike to protest cuts to education and rising tuition fees at a SSMUgeneral assembly yesterday. Early yesterday m orning, E ducation M inister Pauline M arois made a surprise announcement that, while tuition for Quebec students will be frozen until the end of the cur rent government's mandate, tuition fees for outof-province students will go up. Starting in September 1997, tuition for Canadian under graduate students studying in Quebec who come from outside of the province will have to pay $2,913 for tu itio n , which is equal to the Canadian average. International students will pay amounts comparable to what is charged for international students in Ontario. This means, for instance, that international student fees for a student in the faculty of engineering will go up to $15,069 from $7,456. These increases apply both to new students and to students who are currently attending a Quebec university. Marois’ office argued that an increase in tuition fees for out-of-province students makes sense. “Because their parents don’t pay taxes in Quebec, out of province students should pay higher tuition,” said M arois’ press attaché Christiane Miville-Deschênes.
McGill responds to tuition hike While the McGill administration has been lobbying for a tuition increase for all students studying in Quebec, McGill Vice-Principal Academic Bill Chan explained that he was dis appointed with Marois’ decision. “Students from out of the province con tribute to the intellectual life here at the univer sity, and contribute to the economy in Quebec,”
he said. “The policy does not contribute posi tively to greater mobility of students.” At the general assembly, many students supported the strike because of the recent announcement concerning tuition, and also because of a predicted $18 m illion cut to McGill’s budget year. Mera Thompson, aU3 Canadian studies student, does not think that raising tuition for out-of-province students is an acceptable answer to the government’s budget woes. “It’s not guaranteeing accessible education at all. Making a two- or three-tiered education system is not a solution,” she said. The strike will take place on November 20. The William Shatner University Centre will be closed for the day, and there will be picketing at all campus entrances. Classes will still be held, and any students who miss class or tests are to be held responsible. In the afternoon, a large demonstration is planned to take place in down town Montreal. A small minority at the general assembly disagreed with attempts to keep tuition frozen. Josh Pascoe, a U3 management student, voted against the strike. “I agree with a uniform tuition raise. If McGill is such a great university, why does it have to be 60 per cent cheaper than Ontario?” he asked. Most, however, were shocked and upset with the tuition fee announcement. “I think it’s great [M aroisl decided to freeze tuition fees for Quebec students, but where did she come from with differential fees for out-of-province students?” asked SSMU VP External Affairs Chantal Da Silva. “It can obvi ously be seen as an attack on McGill. Thirtyfive to forty per cent of our students come from out of the province.” Da Silva was worried that this pointed to an CEGEP students drum m ed well into the night in support o f the students barricaded inside the Treasury Board office. Continued on Page 3
Robbing the cradle in professional sports training How vigourous training affects the health o f young athletes
Competing in world class ath letics can be hazardous to o n e’s health — especially for young ath letes. A study recently published in the B ritish m edical jo u rn al The L ancet rep o rts that young boys
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and thus cause the tem perature within to rise. This can result in reduced sperm counts. V aricoceles is painless and surgery is usually conducted once the condition is diagnosed. The findings are a cause of concern, however, because infertility that begins during adolescence can be difficult to reverse later in life. As the trend towards involve ment of younger and younger ath letes in top level competitive sport
who train vigorously for soccer may be at risk for a testicular con dition called varicoceles. Italian researchers conducting the study discovered that 30 per cent of ado lescent soccer players who trained ten hours a week or more had this condition, which can cause infertil ity later in life. Varicoceles leaves a collection of enlarged veins that form in the scro tu m . T hese can in h ib it the blood supply to and from the testes
increases, findings like this add fodder to the debate concerning the suitability o f youth involved in such intensive training. “ I t ’s not a q u estio n o f the length of time those boys [in the study] were training for, but what they did in those ten hours a week, w hat ph y sical dem ands w ere p ressed on th e m ,” said Pat Ramondo, the McGill men’s soccer coach. Continued on Page 77
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over queer poster.................. Pg.2 Genetic engineering: we're more
than just our genes....,........ Pg. 11 Addiction: fighting it the natural
way....................................Pg. 17 "Who killed Kurt Cobain": who
cares?............................... Pg. 13 Martlet basketball: season starts
with two wins................... Pg.76 What's O n listing ............. Pg.79
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