The McGill Tribune Vol. 17 Issue 16

Page 1

ft*

T

Published by the Students’ Society of McGill University

♦ H .♦ E

R IB O N E

Volume 17 Issue 16

http://www.tribune.montreal.qc.ca

27 January 1998

Extent of damages unknown

tfiJ

i 'i

f*

‘f» ■**■ *

By Jennifer Mintz Damages caused by the ice storm are monumental to all parts of Montreal, but as of yet McGill offi­ cials have not fully assessed losses to the university. VP Finance Phyllis Heaphy explained that it would take quite a while before the university can release a full report of the damages. “Let me tell you that it is much too early to assess how much money was lost as a result of the storm,” she said. “We are a very large and very decentralized organization and have no way of knowing the extent of our losses. Over the next few weeks we will be accumulating this information.” All six of McGill’s residences lost power but only two for an entire week. Both Solin Hall and Royal Victoria College had heat but were left in the dark for seven days. “There was no water, so you couldn’t flush the toilets or take a shower. The elevators didn’t work — which is bad in a 12 story build­ ing,” said Sarah Dowd, an RVC res­ ident. “There were no lights and no water beyond the third floor. It was hard and a lot of people from out of town decided to go home because of the bad conditions.” RVC eventually ran out of food and students were forced to go to the upper residences for meals. Overall, conditions led many stu­ dents to seek refuge elsewhere. Christine Pritchard, an RVC resident, was one of the students who left Montreal because of the bad conditions. “I went home half way through [the week] because I just couldn’t stand it. School officials thought the power would be restored after two days but it never came back on,” she stated. “It was a real inconvenience not having power or phones. Most people were freaking out and it was really hard to live in the dark.” Due to the lack of power in the residences and the closing of major bridges out of the city, McGill opened up the Shatner building as a C o n tin u e d o n page 4

s f

Slow recovery: the crushing blow o f Montreal's storm o f the century weighs heavily on McGill's campus

Rachel O ng

Shapiro’s report: government squeeze could force cash-strapped McGill to privatize Student leaders oppose p rin cip a l’s report and continue their call f o r a tuition freeze By A

ndrew

R oss

The future directio n of McGill continues to be the subject of heated debate as administrators deal with government cutbacks and ongoing financial and acade­ mic anxiety. The most recent discussions came as a result of a document issued by P rin cip al B ernard Shapiro in early November which outlines different strategies to strengthen M cG ill’s financial footing. E n titled The F iscal Context and Academic Options, Shapiro’s report is in response to more cut-backs from the Quebec Education Minister. A ccording to the M cG ill Alternative Budget Report, in this year alone the Quebec govern­

ment slashed $11.5 million from McGill’s operating grant. For the 1998- 99 school year, the cut has already been announced to be $ 11.4 million, with an additional $3.6 m illion slash planned for 1999- 2000. These cuts do not take into account that M cG ill is already 30 per cent over capacity, nor do they consider the deterio­ rating condition of infrastructure and services caused by student overcrowding.

Managing cutbacks Up to now, the university’s solution to its budget shortfall has been to cut faculty and staff posi­ tions. Since 1994, 97 tenured fac­ ulty positions have been cut, with non-academic staff falling by 394. In addition, faculty and adminis­

trative budgets were also reduced by 3.2 per cent and the libraries were forced to cut back purchases. In an institution such as McGill, as adm inistrators like Principal Shapiro and VP Finance Phyllis Heaphy have noted, such m ea­ sures have u ltim ately been destructive. “This downsizing...has pro­ duced a reduction in the quality of education and the in stitu tio n ,” Shapiro stated in the report. “[F]or a smaller number of professors and staff, approximately the same number of students will be taught in the same number of programs.” Heaphy asserted that “we are managing relatively well from a financial p oint o f view at the

F e a t u r e d I n s id e

Durocher Fire: McGill students left homeless and some are without insurance............................Pg. 3 Booze and the ice storm: How Montrealers really got by......Pg. 15 McGill Music: Professor shakes the hallowed halls..................... Pg.21 McGill Invitational Track Meet:

Martlets sweep medals.........Pg.25


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.